Friday, 12 August 2011

Just like a dinosaur fossil....only better!

Even after a good nights sleep....the dueling dinosaurs are still amazing. To say they are not the most impressive dinosaurs I have ever seen, would be the understatement of the century. When Pete Larson explained that these were his favorite dinosaur fossils....ever...I knew they would be good. However, nothing could have prepared me for the site that met my eyes yesterday in Montana. The preservation of the theropod dinosaurs bone is akin to black porcelain and the ceratopsian it choose an immortal embrace with, is a stunning dusk brown. These timeless beauties will someday be the centre-piece of a VERY lucky museum. I am grateful to have seen these beautiful fossils in transition between their 65 million year old tomb and their future resting place.
Woof......stunning, gorgeous, amazing....just one part of an incredible find!
The rancher who dug-up the specimens and the couple who have lovingly prepped the bones have only added to what is an amazing specimen. Folks who devote their lives to such endeavors have my heartfelt respect and special thanks for showing me their special find. Since I picked-up my first fossil as a 7 year old and asked the simple question, 'What is this?'...I have dreamt of seeing such a fossil (ideally finding it myself, but hey...I'm not choosy). Even when we were digging-up the dinosaur mummy ('Dakota') in 2006, I joked that the only thing that could make the fossil better, was a T. rex holding the tip of Dakota's tail between its teeth. Little did I know, that such a fossil was literally being excavated as I said those words....a fossil that pretty much fulfills my optimistic statement. 
Aladdin's Cave.....more than any palaeontologist could wish for!
If you are within a 1000 miles of this specimen, it's worth the drive to see it.
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7 comments:

  1. ReBecca Hunt-Foster13 August 2011 at 06:27

    Sorry if I missed it, but where is it currently at and where is it going? Could they just have been preserved together?

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  2. Chewie13 August 2011 at 13:58

    Wow! The photo is super sweet. The gastrailia are still in place. The skull rocks! I want one!!!!!

    ~Chewie

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  3. Phil Manning13 August 2011 at 21:03

    The specimens have been prepped these past few years, but are still looking for a home. The fossils are still housed in Montana near where they were found in 2006. Having looked at the specimens closely, it is clear they were interacting at the point of death. Stacks of evidence to support this. Quite stunning.

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  4. Thomas Holtz16 August 2011 at 02:29

    So looking forward to seeing these guys in greater detail! I first heard about them some years ago, and wondered what the status was.

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  5. Phil Manning17 August 2011 at 03:53

    Hi Tom, drop me an email and I shall furnish you with some images :-)

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  6. anteater21 September 2011 at 02:02

    Amazing fossil, but in no way is it more impressive than the fighting Protoceratops/Velociraptor.

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  7. M.Oberhofer25 December 2011 at 00:43

    What a stunning find! The imagination is aflame picturing the struggles that preceded this frozen moment and what caused it to freeze just so. Why have I not seen this before now? It reminds me of a display we have in the Queensland Museum of a mummified Monitor Lizard which met its doom in an ambitious yet foolish attempt to swallow an Echidna, preserving both in an eternal embrace. Cant wait to see more of this!

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