The Fighting Dinosaurs

Fighting Dinosaurs [Click image to enlarge]

Apparently locked in combat, these two fighting dinosaurs were remarkably preserved in this action pose some 80 million years ago.

Velociraptor was a fierce carnivore that hunted prey animals, such as the plant-eating Protoceratops. Here, the Velociraptor has embedded its deadly foot claw into the neck of the crouching Protoceratops, near the region that housed the blood supply for the head. In turn, the Protoceratops appears to have bitten and broken the right arm of the Velociraptor, whose left hand grips the head of the Protoceratops.

A sudden sand flow may have quickly buried these foes, capturing them in this fighting position. In 1971 a Polish-Mongolian team discovered this specimen embedded in the white sandstone cliffs of the southern Gobi Desert. It is considered a national treasure of Mongolia.

> The Desert at Night
> Understanding the Past
> Fossil Preservation in the Gobi
> The Diversity of Life
> The Fighting Dinosaurs
> Birds: Living Dinosaurs
> The Rise of Mammals
> Digging Up Dinosaurs

Photos © AMNH