Two triceratops protect a third from 4 baby tyrannosaurs.

This illustration shows Triceratops facing off against young tyrannosaurs 67 million years ago. 

Anthony Hutchings. © Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences

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Battle of the Dinosaurs

Skeletons of a T. rex and a Triceratops were recently discovered­. Did they die fighting each other? 

In a flash, the T. rex jumps onto the back of the Triceratops—and bites down. Its sharp teeth are as big as bananas. With a mighty roar, the Triceratops swings its giant head around. It tries to spear the T. rex with one of its three deadly horns.

A battle like this might have taken place millions of years ago. Paleontologists recently dug up fossils of two dinosaurs in a Montana hillside. They say it’s possible the dinos were locked in a bloody duel when they died.

Dino Discovery

Matt Zeher

This is the skull of the T. rex dueling dinosaur. It's missing teeth here that might have snapped off in battle. 

The two dinos, a Triceratops and a T. rex, lived 67 million years ago. They roamed in what is now the American West.

After the dinosuars died, their bodies slowly became fossils. In 2006, paleontologists found the Triceratops skeleton. And later they spotted the T. rex.

The fossils still need to be fully studied. But scientists say they’re the best examples of a Triceratops and T. rex ever found.

Why do experts think they might have been fighting? The skeletons were found overlapping each other. And T. rex teeth are stuck in the spine of the Triceratops.

Even with these clues, scientists can’t be positive that these two fought. The teeth might have come from another T. rex.

Map It Out

What direction would you go to get from the state capital to Jordan?

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Dueling Dinos

Paleontologists at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences are on a mission to learn more. The museum will soon be home to these dueling dinosaurs.

Lindsay Zanno is a paleontologist at the museum. She says when dinosaur fossils are dug up, the skeletons are usually missing many bones.

“But the two whole skeletons that make up the dueling dinosaurs are incredible,” Zanno explains. “Both dinosaurs were buried with all of their skin, muscles, and organs intact!”

Zanno and other experts will have an amazing opportunity to study the fossils up close.

Over time, the fossils could reveal new information about the dinos’ bodies. They might also finally answer the question: Did this pair battle it out to the death?

Ask a Fossil Hunter

We caught up with Lindsay Zanno between dino finds. Here’s what she told us about fossils and paleontology. 

courtesy of Lindsay Zanno

Scholastic News: Why is it important to study fossils? 

Lindsay Zanno: To know Earth’s future, we need to know the past. Some of that past is preserved only as fossils.


SN: How do you get fossils out of the ground? 

LZ: We first remove all the rock above them. We then carefully dig around each fossil and wrap it in wet plaster bandages that dry into a hard coating. That protects fossils when they’re moved.


SN: Why do we love dinos?

LZ: They were the largest animals to walk on Earth. Many had horns and spikes. Today, we can be amazed by them—but at a safe distance!

Courtesy of Lindsay Zanno

Zanno uses a saw to remove rock that's above a fossil.

Your Turn

Draw an event from this article. Be sure to include a caption. 

1. Based on the article, what do you know about the work of paleontologists?

2. Why do scientists think the fossils of two dinosaurs unearthed in Montana show that the dinos could have been fighting each other?

3. According to the sidebar “Ask a Fossil Hunter,” what steps do scientists take to get a fossil out of the ground?

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