LiveScience has a story about the “Dueling Dinosaurs”.   This extraordinary fossil specimen of two of the most complete dinosaurs skeletons ever discovered.  One is a Triceratops and the other is a Tyrannosaurs rex and they may possibly be locked in 67 million year old mortal combat.  These fossils are heading to North Carolina State University to undergo some extensive study.  Dr. Lindsay Zanno, who has spoken to ESCONI a few times in the past, will by involved with the study of this magnificent find.

The “Dueling Dinosaurs” fossils — the 67 million-year-old remains of what may be the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops on record, beasts that were possibly locked in combat when they died — are finally spilling their secrets. The iconic fossils are heading to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS), where a cutting-edge interactive exhibit will be built around them, the museum announced today (Nov. 17).

The fossils are steeped in controversy. They’re remarkable specimens, thought to include 100% of both creatures’ bones, as well as body outlines, skin impressions and possibly even the remains of soft tissues and stomach contents. But after their discovery by commercial collectors in eastern Montana in 2006, the dinosaurs failed to sell at auction and were later involved in a lawsuit that attempted to redefine fossils as minerals. And the scientific community was torn about the fossils; many were excited to learn about the dinosaurs, but some said they were scientifically useless and others disliked that they were being sold by for-profit collectors.

Now, after a tremendous fundraising project, the 30,000-lbs. (13,600 kilograms) fossilized chunks holding the Dueling Dinosaurs have arrived in North Carolina, where scientists plan to study them before the public’s eyes. And the duelers definitely aren’t “scientifically useless,” said Lindsay Zanno, head of paleontology at NCMNS and associate research professor at North Carolina State University, who spearheaded the project to bring the fossils to the museum.