"The duelling dinosaurs fossil, which reveals a triceratops in battle with a medium-sized tyrannosaur, was unearthed in Montana by commercial fossil hunters in 2006 and dates to shortly before the asteroid strike that ended the reign of the dinosaurs 66m years ago. It only became available for scientific research after it was acquired by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) in recent years."
"Our specimen is a fully grown Nanotyrannus weighing only 1,500 pounds after two decades of growth, said Dr Lindsay Zanno, a co-author of the study from North Carolina State University and the head of palaeontology at NCMNS. The anatomy of Nanotyrannus, from its higher tooth count, enlarged hands, shorter tail, unique pattern of cranial nerves and sinuses and smaller adult body size, is incompatible with the hypothesis that this skeleton is a teenage T rex, Zanno said."
A triceratops and a medium-sized tyrannosaur fossil locked in combat was unearthed in Montana in 2006 and dates to shortly before the asteroid impact 66 million years ago. The specimen was later acquired by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Detailed anatomical analysis identifies the tyrannosaur as an adult Nanotyrannus lancensis weighing about 1,500 pounds after roughly twenty years of growth. Diagnostic features include a higher tooth count, enlarged hands, a shorter tail, distinctive cranial nerve and sinus patterns, and a smaller adult body size incompatible with juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex. Several previously assigned juvenile T. rex specimens are reassigned to Nanotyrannus, indicating coexistence with T. rex in the same ecosystems.
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