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these negotiations: the
Seversons had most of the control over mineral rights on Murray land, and whether fossils could be considered minerals (in which case the Seversons would have rights to it) was disputed. Although a previous court had ruled in favor of the Murrays, in November 2018 judges ruled in favor of the Seversons and that fossils could legally be considered minerals in Montana, angering many paleontologists. However, the case was appealed to the
78:, although it is not known whether they were actually buried fighting one another. Despite the scientific importance of the specimen, it remained obscure for decades due to a lengthy legal dispute over property rights to the specimen, which has since been resolved. The fossil is in the possession of and being studied by the
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of the North
Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences reached out to Phipps, starting negotiations to purchase the fossil, with funds being raised through the private nonprofit Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. However, legal issues over rightful ownership of the fossils slowed
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The specimen was originally discovered in 2006 by ranchers
Clayton Phipps, Mark Eatman, and Chad O’Connor in Montana. Two different ranching families, the Seversons and the Murrays, owned the land on which the fossils were found. Phipps enlisted the help of CK Preparations, run by Preparer Chris
116:". This presentation was met with significant controversy and ethical complaints, due to the opposition surrounding publishing on privately-owned specimens. Shortly afterwards, the specimens went on sale, including auctioning at
106:. With no buyers, the fossils were slated to be sold to a private collector instead. In 2013, Larson presented a poster about the tyrannosaur (also referred to as "Bloody Mary", specimen number BHI 6437) at the annual
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entangled with one another, and entombed in sandstone. The "dueling" inference comes from the numerous injuries sustained by both dinosaurs, including a tooth from the tyrannosaur embedded within the
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The
Dueling Dinosaurs remained obscure until 2011, when a marketing campaign, including a dedicated website, was launched by the ranchers (with the assistance of commercial paleontologist
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ever found at over 98% completeness), and contains skin impressions, and potentially internal organs, stomach contents, and proteins.
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in 2020, who ruled that fossils could not be considered minerals, allowing for the Museum of
Natural Sciences to acquire the fossils.
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The specimen is once considered one of the best-preserved and most complete fossils of both species (as well as the most complete
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The specimens were officially revealed to the public in April 2024, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by then-state governor
38:. The actual specimens had to be taken apart to be transported, and are thus no longer in the same pose as they were found.
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210:"'Dueling Dinosaurs' fossil, hidden from science for 14 years, could finally reveal its secrets"
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62:. It consists of the fossilized skeletons of a tyrannosaur (generally considered a juvenile
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456:"Perhaps the best dinosaur fossil ever discovered. So why has hardly anyone seen it?"
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174:, another fossil specimen preserving a theropod fighting a ceratopsian, in this case
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296:"'Dueling dinosaurs' fossils show Triceratops, T. rex, may have died after a battle"
239:"'Dueling dinosaurs' fossils show Triceratops, T. rex, may have died after a battle"
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meeting, pronouncing it as a potential specimen of the debated tyrannosaur genus "
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271:"North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to receive the "Dueling Dinosaurs""
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589:"Montana's Dueling Dinosaurs To Fetch Up To $ 9 Million At Bonhams Auction"
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563:"'Dueling Dinosaurs' exhibit opens in Raleigh | The North State Journal"
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538:"'Dueling dinosaurs' of Hell Creek find home in North Carolina museum"
321:"NC Museum of Natural Sciences unveils world's first complete T. rex"
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488:"Millions at stake in Montana dinosaur fight: Are fossils minerals?"
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Morrow and
Paleoartist Katie Busch, to prepare the specimen.
514:"Will the Public Ever Get to See the "Dueling Dinosaurs"?"
382:"Will the Public Ever Get to See the "Dueling Dinosaurs"?"
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Cast of a skin impression from the foot of the tyrannosaur
544:. Associated Press in Raleigh, North Carolina. 2020-11-17
406:"Auction Block Dinosaur Stirs Controversy at SVP"
319:Patrick, Jessica; Armstrong, Rick (2020-11-17).
660:Tourist attractions in Raleigh, North Carolina
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275:North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
80:North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
36:North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
30:Reconstruction at the specimens in their
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431:"Nanotyrannus lancensis (Gilmore 1946)"
294:Strickland, Ashley (17 November 2020).
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82:, where it went on display in 2024.
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380:Magazine, Smithsonian; Sager, Mike.
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108:Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
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273:. Programs and Events Calendar.
454:Pantuso, Phillip (2019-07-17).
494:. Associated Press. 2019-11-08
54:specimen originating from the
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347:Bowley, Graham (2013-07-29).
216:. 2020-11-17. Archived from
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349:"Clashing Titans for Sale"
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48:Montana Dueling Dinosaurs
640:Cretaceous fossil record
19:Not to be confused with
645:Paleontology in Montana
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130:Montana Supreme Court
104:Museum of the Rockies
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665:2006 in paleontology
650:Hell Creek Formation
518:Smithsonian Magazine
386:Smithsonian Magazine
249:on November 18, 2020
220:on November 17, 2020
71:Triceratops horridus
56:Hell Creek Formation
214:National Geographic
353:The New York Times
172:Fighting Dinosaurs
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21:Fighting Dinosaurs
587:Keats, Jonathon.
492:Los Angeles Times
65:Tyrannosaurus rex
44:Dueling Dinosaurs
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247:the original
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177:Velociraptor
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143:Significance
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113:Nanotyrannus
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243:www.msn.com
212:. Science.
100:Smithsonian
96:Pete Larson
76:Triceratops
629:Categories
598:2020-11-18
573:2024-06-11
548:2020-11-18
523:2020-11-18
498:2020-11-18
473:2020-11-18
440:2024-06-11
416:2024-06-11
391:2024-07-27
366:2020-11-18
330:2020-11-18
305:2020-11-18
280:2020-11-18
253:2020-11-18
224:2020-11-18
191:References
137:Roy Cooper
468:0261-3077
361:0362-4331
325:WRAL News
123:In 2016,
166:See also
160:specimen
102:and the
68:) and a
410:Science
118:Bonhams
86:History
60:Montana
32:in situ
593:Forbes
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52:fossil
50:is a
464:ISSN
357:ISSN
180:and
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300:CNN
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