What is the name of the famous fossil showing a Velociraptor and Protoceratops locked in combat?

The fossil showing a Velociraptor and Protoceratops locked in combat is called the Fighting Dinosaurs. It preserves Velociraptor mongoliensis and Protoceratops andrewsi in an unusually dramatic pose.

The specimen was discovered on August 3, 1971, at Tugriken Shireh in Mongolia’s Djadokhta Formation. The rocks date to the Late Cretaceous, roughly 75–71 million years ago. The Velociraptor lies beneath the Protoceratops, with its characteristic sickle claw near the herbivore’s throat, while the Protoceratops appears to have trapped the predator’s forelimb in its jaws.

Scientists have debated exactly how the animals died and were buried. Proposed explanations include a collapsing sand dune, a sandstorm, drowning, or scavenging followed by rapid burial. The specimen is important because it provides direct evidence of interaction between a predatory theropod and its prey.

A common mix-up is Dueling Dinosaurs, a different fossil featuring a Triceratops and a controversial theropod specimen. Sue and Big Al are also famous dinosaur fossils, but neither shows this combat scene.