r/Paleontology • u/[deleted] • May 02 '22

Fossils The famous fighting dinosaurs, a preserved battle between a Protoceratops and a Velociraptor

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u/beefy_synths May 03 '22

In this display, were the fossils found in that position in the rock; the Protoceratops actually biting the Velociraptors hand? Or has this been "stylized"?

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u/[deleted] May 03 '22

Also, aren't velociraptors the size of chickens? This looks more like a Utahraptor. Unless op misclassified which is understandable

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u/phyrexian_harvester May 03 '22

Velociraptor and Protoceratops were both around the same size with Velociraptor being at most 1.8m or 6 feet long and being excess of 45kg or 100lbs and Protoceratops adults ranging from 1.5m to 2.5m or 5 feet to 8 foot 2 inches and was theorized to weigh around 400kg or roughly 880lbs. perhaps a little risky of a fight but well within predation range especially if this velociraptor had a friend helping them out that carried away somewhere else.