Protoceratops vs Velociraptor – The Fighting Dinosaurs

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if two dinosaurs were caught in the middle of a fight… and stayed that way forever?

That’s exactly what scientists discovered.

What Are the “Fighting Dinosaurs”?

The Fighting Dinosaurs are a famous fossil of two dinosaurs:

They were found locked together in battle—just like a snapshot from millions of years ago.

These fossils were discovered in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, one of the most important places in the world for dinosaur fossils.

Scientists think something like this happened:

Because of this, their skeletons stayed almost exactly as they were during the fight.

This is a fun question—but the fossil gives us a surprising answer…

Neither dinosaur won.

They were both strong in different ways:

In this case, the battle ended in a tie.

The original fossil is kept in Mongolia, but replicas (copies) are displayed in museums around the world.

The fossil was discovered in 1971 by a team of scientists exploring Mongolia.

It quickly became one of the most famous dinosaur fossils ever found!

Most fossils show bones after animals have died.

But this one shows:

It’s like a photo from 70 million years ago.

Here’s what it might have looked like:

Yes! Their bodies show they were in the middle of a real battle.

A sudden sandstorm likely buried them before either could escape.

No! It was actually smaller than Protoceratops.

No—this is one of the only fossils like it in the world.

The Velociraptor used a curved claw on its foot—like a hook—to attack.

The Protoceratops used its strong beak, kind of like a parrot, to defend itself!