A fossilized penis bone from an extinct walrus isn't the usual kind of artifact to hang above the mantel.

Maybe that's why it sold at auction for $8,000, far below the expected price.

The 4½-foot-long item, covered with weathered skin and dry muscle tissue, was sold to the company that runs the Ripley's Believe It or Not museums, said Josh Chait, director of operations for the I.M. Chait Gallery, his family's auction house.

"Their corporate office bought it and they'll probably display it around the country," he said.

There were only three bidders and the contest lasted only a couple of minutes, Chait said. "Only a limited number of people really want it," Chait acknowledged.