Phipps dubbed them the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. “They’re remarkable specimens,” says Mark Norell, chairman of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History. “Especially the tyrannosaur–it could go a long way toward resolving whether nanotyrranus was its own species.” Thirteen years later, the number of people who have seen the fossils remains in the low double digits. They’ve still not been fully extracted from the rock matrix, cleaned, prepped, studied or put on display.
The Montana Dueling Dinosaurs refer to a pair of well-preserved dinosaur fossils that are significant for research, particularly in determining the classification of the tyrannosaur species known as Nanotyrannus. Although remarkable, these fossils have not yet been fully prepared for study or display, limiting the number of people who have seen them to a very small group.
In essence, these fossils are crucial for paleontological research and understanding dinosaur evolution, but they are largely inaccessible to the public and researchers due to the current state of preparation. If you’re curious about paleontology or the significance of these fossils, feel free to ask more!