Auction Day for Dinosaurs...

The auction of the 'Duelling Dinosaurs' has raised many eyebrows in the world of palaeontology and beyond. Those who have come to see the remarkable fossils at Bonham's, which are still neatly parcelled in their plaster field-jackets,  cannot help but gawp at the complete nature of the predator and prey locked in immortal combat. It is clear why some major museums are seriously interested in the plucky pair of beasties, but their fate will be decided in a little over 4 hours...

The sarcophagus of sandstone that entombs the two dinosaurs also has the potential to reveal many secrets on the burial environments and preservation of these beautiful fossils. Who knows if a cadaver decay island seeped its chemical signature into the surrounding sediments, only to be set in stone for 66 million years. The fact that so much of the encasing sedimentary matrix is still attached to these dinosaurs is a good thing and something which any buyer will have to carefully explore and examine.

This powerful portrayal of a prehistoric battle between the hunter and the hunted will hopefully have a new home by close of play today. The palaeontological community are holding their breath...hoping for a public museum to step-in and acquire the fossil remains of two splendid Cretaceous combatants.