Dueling Dinosaurs

The Dueling Dinosaurs are a fossil specimen originating from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, United States, discovered in 2006. It consists of the articulated skeletons of a Nanotyrannus lancensis and Triceratops horridus individual associated in a sandstone block. This fossil remained obscure for years due to a lengthy legal dispute over property rights to the specimen, which has since been resolved as the specimen resides in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The "dueling" inference comes from the numerous injuries sustained by both dinosaurs, including a tooth from the tyrannosaur embedded within the Triceratops, although it is not known whether they were actually buried fighting one another. In addition to being an extremely rare paleontological discovery, the Dueling Dinosaurs fossil provides significant insight into the behavior and biology of both species in life.