Fighting Dinosaurs

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Dueling Dinosaurs.
Fossil cast of the Fighting Dinosaurs at the Nagoya City Science Museum, Japan

The Fighting Dinosaurs is a

sandstorm
, or alternatively they were not buried simultaneously.

History of discovery

Fossil of the Fighting Dinosaurs as found in situ in 1971

From 1963 to 1971,

paleontologists Tomasz Jerzykiewicz, Maciej Kuczyński, Teresa Maryańska, Edward Miranowski, Altangerel Perle and Wojciech Skarżyński, several fossils of Protoceratops and Velociraptor were found at the Tugriken Shire locality (Djadokhta Formation) including a block containing a pair of them. The individuals of this block were identified as a P. andrewsi struggling with a V. mongoliensis. Although the circumstances of their burial were unknown, their pose indicated that they died simultaneously in a death match.[1]

The presence of the specimen on field was noted thanks to the overlapping skull fragments of the Protoceratops on the sediments, which eventually led to the excavation. It was soon nicknamed the Fighting Dinosaurs. The P. andrewsi individual is cataloged under the specimen number MPC-D 100/512 and the V. mongoliensis as MPC-D 100/25 (Mongolian Paleontological Center; originally GIN or GI SPS).[2] In 2000 the American Museum of Natural History organized the traveling exhibit Fighting Dinosaurs: New Discoveries from Mongolia which was mainly focused on important Mongolian fossils with emphasis on the Fighting Dinosaurs, which is now regarded as a national treasure of Mongolia.[3]

Interpretation

Skull of MPC-D 100/25 (Velociraptor mongoliensis)

In 1974, Mongolian paleontologist

scavenging an already dead Protoceratops and then got buried and eventually killed by an unknown event.[5]

In 1995, David M. Unwin and colleagues argued that scavenging was unlikely as there were numerous indications of a simultaneous death. The Protoceratops has a semi-erect stance and its

sandstorm or sand-bearing event. They interpreted the final interaction with the Protoceratops being grasped and dispatched with kicks delivered by the low-lying Velociraptor. Finally, they suggested that populations of Velociraptor could have been aware of crouching behaviors in Protoceratops during high-energy sandstorms and used it for successful hunts.[6]

Life restoration depicting the fight

In 1998,

predator and trapped it under its own weight, causing the death and eventual desiccation of the Velociraptor. The missing limbs of the Protoceratops were later torn off by scavengers. Finally, both animals were buried by sandy sediments. Given that the Velociraptor is relatively complete, Carpenter suggested that it may have been completely or partially buried by sand. He concluded that the Fighting Dinosaurs is among the specimens that provide direct evidence for non-avian theropods as active predators and not strict scavengers.[2]

Size of the Fighting Dinosaurs

In 2016 Barsbold reported several anomalies within the Protoceratops individual: both

claws to damage the throat and belly regions and its hand claws to grasp the herbivore's head. Prior to their burial, the fight ended up on the ground with the Velociraptor lying on its back under the Protoceratops. After the burial event, either a Protoceratops herd or scavengers tore off the buried Protoceratops to the left and backwards, slightly separating the Protoceratops and the Velociraptor.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kielan-Jaworowska, Z.; Barsbold, R. (1972). "Narrative of the Polish-Mongolian Palaeontological Expeditions, 1967-1971" (PDF). Palaeontologia Polonica. 27: 1−12.
  2. ^ a b Carpenter, K. (1998). "Evidence of predatory behavior by carnivorous dinosaurs" (PDF). Gaia. 15: 135−144.
  3. ^ "Fighting Dinos". AMNH. American Museum of National History. 2000.
  4. ^ Barsbold, R. (1974). "Поединок динозавров" [Dueling dinosaurs]. Priroda (in Russian). 2: 81−83.
  5. ^ Osmólska, H. (1993). "Were the Mongolian Fighting Dinosaurs really fighting?". Rev. Paleobiol. 7: 161−162.
  6. doi:10.1080/02724634.1995.10011277
    .
  7. S2CID 90811750
    .

External links
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