Primal Struggle

Abstract

The battling Mongolian dinosaurs have come to North America. Discovered in 1971, they make up one of the most famous fossils ever discovered: Velociraptor mongoliensis, and Protoceratops andrewsi, who apparently died, Pompeii-style, locked in combat—perhaps smothered by a sudden sand flow triggered by a heavy rain. With its left hand, the predatory Velociraptor grips the head of the crouching Protoceratops, a shield-headed plant-eater, while embedding a deadly foot claw into the victim's neck. Meanwhile, Protoceratops appears to be retaliating by biting Velociraptor's right arm. The 80-million-year-old gladiators are featured in a show, “New Discoveries from Mongolia,” running at New York City's American Museum of Natural History from 19 May to 29 October.