From: "Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu> Reply-To: rtravsky@uwyo.edu To: dinosaur@usc.edu Subject: Montana Find, Carnivore And "Victim" Found Together Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:06:22 -0700 (MST)
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/01/16/news/regional/c8ceabc40806fc4787257264007b9bdc.txt
Fossil hunters have uncovered a world-class dinosaur find in the badlands of western Garfield County.
Frozen in the sandstone are the death poses of two beasts, a meat-eater and a plant-eater, with their tails crossed like swords.
The pair's sudden, sandy burial, near the coast of Montana's prehistoric sea 75 million years ago, preserved them with remarkable detail, right down to tendons and teeth, the Great Falls Tribune reported in describing the find Sunday.
The discovery is believed to be one of only three worldwide capturing a meat-eater and plant-eater together, and the first in North America, the newspaper said.
At first blush, the evidence implicates the carnivore in its grave mate's death.
But Nate Murphy, paleontologist at the Dinosaur Field Station in Malta, who visited the quarry last summer, says the murder case against the meat-eater is weak.
Based on the placement of the skeletons, it's more likely that the two unfortunates were victims of a flood and their bodies washed up on the same sandbar, he said.
The vegetarian's attacker or attackers struck at some point before its carcass came to rest, Murphy said.
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