An incredible fossil shows T. rex and Triceratops locked in battle to the death

When you imagine dinosaurs fighting, the first encounter that comes to mind is Triceratops versus T. rex. In our collective imagination they are fighting eternally. It is the clash of the titans. But he did these battles in reality take place?

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Artist Anthony Hutchings’ interpretation of the fight against Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops horridus Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences

Yes. Yes They did. We have the fossil to prove it and, for the first time ever, the public will be able to take a look at it.

The fossil – nicknamed “Dueling Dinosaurs” – was first discovered in 2006, but has only been seen by a select few until now. It shows a T. rex and a Triceratops in mid-battle, literally fighting to the death. The pair are preserved in a fossil first exhibited at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, The Charlotte Observer reported on November 17.

The fossil shows the Triceratops and T. rex to this day, preserved together in an unusual predator-prey encounter.

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Unlike other museum exhibits where dinosaur skeletons are stored and then assembled to stand proudly, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences plans to exhibit this fossil encased in sandstone, while staff paleontologists slowly take away the sediment surrounding the bones.

Visitors to the museum will also be able to ask questions of paleontologists who work as they work on the exhibit.

“There is such a goldmine of scientific information to be discovered,” museum director Eric Dorfman told The Charlotte Observer. “We already have a fantastic reputation for letting people see science unfold in real time. People can get close and see researchers doing the work they do. This fossil allows us to bring that idea with people engaged in science in time. real to the next level. “

The fossils were purchased for $ 6 million from the nonprofit Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences through private funds and will be donated to the museum’s vertebrate paleontology collection. Construction of the museum on the SECU DinoLab begins in 2021.

“We have not yet studied this specimen; it is a scientific frontier. The conservation is phenomenal and we plan to use every technological innovation available to reveal new information on the biology of T. rex and Triceratops. This fossil will forever change our view of the two favorite dinosaurs. to the world, “Dr. Lindsay Zanno, chief of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, said in a statement.

© Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences

Artist Anthony Hutchings’ interpretation of the fight against Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops horridus