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33-567: The specimen was originally discovered in 2006 by ranchers Clayton Phipps, Mark Eatman, and Chad O’Connor in Montana. Two different ranching families, the Seversons and the Murrays, owned the land on which the fossils were found. Phipps enlisted the help of CK Preparations, run by Preparer Chris Morrow and Paleoartist Katie Busch, to prepare the specimen. The Dueling Dinosaurs remained obscure until 2011, when

66-415: A Tyrannosaurus and contains skin impressions, and potentially internal organs, stomach contents, and proteins. For a long time, paleontologists, artists, and filmmakers made several depictions of Tyrannosaurus rex pitted against Triceratops. The diet of a T-Rex is indicated by studying bitten bones and coprolites (feces). However, there is no direct evidence T-Rex and Triceratops ever fought. Furthermore,

99-417: A 35% share of the company, filed a lawsuit against Larson and others in 2015 alleging that he was being oppressed as a shareholder. He sought to liquidate the company to buy out his 35% share ownership and part ways. The court ruled that Neal's shareholder rights had been violated when he was not invited nor allowed to speak at the meeting where he was fired. The Black Hills Institute did not have enough cash for

132-499: A buyout, causing Larson's fossil collection to be appraised. Several years later, the court ruled that Neal would receive the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton "Stan", which was appraised at a value of $ 6 million at the time. "Stan" was sold for $ 32 million in 2020. Larson has written and co-authored numerous publications on dinosaurs. He was one of the first to work with T. rex bone pathologies, has worked to uncover sexual dimorphism in

165-611: A children's book about the history of paleontology and requirements on how to become a paleontologist. Larson has developed a controversial standing in his field as the majority of academic paleontologists object to any organization's commercial selling of fossils. On the other hand, Larson has published scientific papers about dinosaurs and has contributed to community outreach programs, such as teaching inmates about paleontology while serving his two-year prison sentence in Federal prison. The benefits and drawbacks of selling fossils has been

198-562: A lot of Triceratops only had traces indicating scavenging. Yet healed injuries on either a T-Rex or Triceratops would be a clear sign of a fight. A juvenile T-Rex has a bite force of 5,641 newtons compared to the 35,000 newtons of a full-grown adult. Paleontologists use this information to confirmed juveniles do not crush bone but that comes with growth and development, advancing their bite power and strengthening their jaws. Therefore, T-Rex bite force rises in strength and power in correspondence to its size and weight with age. The presence of holes on

231-577: A marketing campaign, including a dedicated website, was launched by the ranchers (with the assistance of commercial paleontologist Pete Larson ) to sell them to a prospective buyer. The ranchers unsuccessfully tried to sell the fossil to several museums, including the Smithsonian and the Museum of the Rockies . With no buyers, the fossils were slated to be sold to a private collector instead. In 2013, Larson presented

264-418: A poster about the tyrannosaur (also referred to as "Bloody Mary", specimen number BHI 6437) at the annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, pronouncing it as a potential specimen of the debated tyrannosaur genus " Nanotyrannus ". This presentation was met with significant controversy and ethical complaints, due to the opposition surrounding publishing on privately-owned specimens. Shortly afterwards,

297-544: A ranch near Mission, South Dakota . He began rock hunting at the age of four on his parents' ranch. He attended the South Dakota School of Mines to study paleontology. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1974. Shortly after graduating college he started Black Hills Minerals. Larson founded what eventually became the Black Hills Institute in 1974. Robert Farrar and Neal Larson, his brother, later joined

330-399: A topic for more than 100 years between academic and professional paleontologists throughout the 20th century. Collaborative work created the primary collections that introduced the public to dinosaurs, but also introduced the idea of fiscal value to resources that some argue fall into the public domain. Academics who reject the practice claim that the high prices that fossils like "Sue" bring in

363-429: A trial on charges unrelated to "Sue", Larson was found guilty and convicted of two felony counts for United States customs violations involving cash brought from overseas, as well as two misdemeanours relating to illegally taking two fossils from federal land. Of the 149 charges faced by Larson and other Black Hills associates, the jury acquitted the defendants of 73 charges, found them guilty of 8 charges and did not reach

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396-582: A verdict on 68 charges. Richard Battey sentenced Larson to two years in Federal prison. Larson appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court against his conviction and was denied. Larson ended up serving 18 months in minimum security prison at the Federal Correctional Complex, Florence , Colorado. In 1997, Larson told the PBS television program Nova that "The government's wrong. The government

429-522: Is not correct in what they've done here." In 1992, Larson's team helped to discover the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen, Stan . In 2013, Larson and colleagues began excavating at a site located in Wyoming , US containing the remnants of three nearly complete skeletons of Triceratops . In 2012, Larson fired his brother, Neal, from the Black Hills Institute amid personal differences. Neal, owning

462-641: The Internal Revenue Service , said the evidence recovered at the Black Hills Institute was more than could have been investigated with "so many bones, so many animals, so many invertebrates that were taken off of public lands, taken internationally, sold internationally." The Justice Department charged Larson with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, illegal collection of fossils, theft of government property, wire fraud, making false statements to government agents and customs violations in November 1993. Following

495-648: The Federal government's raid of Larson's company, the Black Hills Institute, and seizure of "Sue". At the time, Robert Hunt Jr. of the University of Nebraska , secretary-treasurer of the SVP, stated that "America's national heritage of fossils is being bled away by commercial operations, which should be stopped." Mission, South Dakota Mission is a city on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in northern Todd County , South Dakota , United States. The population

528-413: The Seversons had most of the control over mineral rights on Murray land, and whether fossils could be considered minerals (in which case the Seversons would have rights to it) was disputed. Although a previous court had ruled in favor of the Murrays, in November 2018 judges ruled in favor of the Seversons and that fossils could legally be considered minerals in Montana, angering many paleontologists. However,

561-507: The Tyrannosaurus rex named "Sue" from Larson's commercial fossil dealership, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The federal agents seized the fossil of "Sue", along with other fossils and records. The specimen was taken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Although Larson had paid the landowner for the find, Williams had reportedly changed his mind, and the U.S. Attorney charged that

594-420: The age of 18 living with them, 33.4% were married couples living together, 27.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.34. In the city, the population was spread out, with 40.2% under

627-470: The age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $ 23,631, and the median income for a family was $ 21,375. Males had a median income of $ 25,417 versus $ 22,778 for females. The per capita income for

660-627: The case was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court in 2020, who ruled that fossils could not be considered minerals, allowing for the Museum of Natural Sciences to acquire the fossils. The specimens were officially revealed to the public in April 2024, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by then-state governor Roy Cooper . The specimen is considered one of the best-preserved and most complete fossils of both species of Triceratops and over 98% completeness of

693-537: The chevron length of T. rex, and argues that several juvenile T. rex skeletons actually represent a distinct genus, Nanotyrannus. Larson, along with paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter , edited the scholarly text Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Tyrant King . Larson and his ex-wife Kristin Donnan wrote the book, Rex Appeal, about the U.S. Government taking possession of "Sue" following its excavation. The pair also wrote Bones Rock! ,

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726-512: The city limits. As of the census of 2010, there were 1,182 people, 398 households, and 298 families living in the city. The population density was 2,003.4 inhabitants per square mile (773.5/km ). There were 443 housing units at an average density of 750.8 per square mile (289.9/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 11.7% White , 0.3% African American , 85.4% Native American , 0.1% Asian , 0.2% from other races , and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.1% of

759-443: The city. The population density was 1,523.4 inhabitants per square mile (588.2/km ). There were 339 housing units at an average density of 571.3 per square mile (220.6/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 74.89% Native American , 22.01% White , 0.11% African American , and 2.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population. There were 302 households, out of which 46.7% had children under

792-534: The company with 5% ownership and 35%, respectively, to Larson's 60%. In 1990, Larson led the excavation of a substantially complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton later named " Sue ". Larson paid the Sioux owner of the ranch on which the specimen was located, Maurice Williams, $ 5,000 for the find. On 14 May 1992, a raid led by the states U.S. Attorney Kevin Shieffer with 35 FBI agents and 20 National Guardsmen recovered

825-763: The county, it is located at the junction of U.S. routes 18 and 83 . The city contains part of the Oyate Trail, the headquarters of the Todd County School District, Cherry-Todd Rural Electric Cooperative, and various federal/tribal agencies. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 0.59 square miles (1.53 km ), all land. The closely linked communities of Antelope and White Horse, and other nearby settlements, including School District and Bureau of Indian Affairs housings and private communities, are located outside

858-612: The excavation and preparation of fossils. He led the team that excavated " Sue ", one of the largest and most complete specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex , which was the subject of a legal dispute resulting in its seizure and public auction. In 1996, Larson was convicted of customs violations related to failing to declare money he had brought from overseas, and served 18 months in prison. He has published scientific and popular works on dinosaur paleontology. Larson has been criticized by some paleontologists for his commercial enterprises and support of private collections. Peter Larson grew up on

891-526: The fossil had been illegally taken from land under Federal administration, because the deeded land fell within the borders of a Native American reservation and the parcel itself was held by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the benefit of its Native landowner. After the auction of Sue in 1997, which resulted in its sale to the Field Museum , Williams received $ 7.6 million. Keith Nelson, the lead investigator for

924-468: The frill revealed evidence of what could only be done by combat injuries, similar to elk and deer. Chemical analysis indicated the injuries on the bones to be healed. This confirmed Triceratops was capable of battling whether it's two males fighting for dominance or defense against predators. Peter Larson Peter Lars Larson (born 1952) is an American fossil dealer who is head of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research , which specialises in

957-572: The marketplace prevent public institutions from competing, as private landowners see their fossils as "crops" and are less likely to donate them. Larson has gained some supporters in academia. Robert Bakker , Curator of Paleontology for the Houston Museum of Natural Science, described Larson in 1996 as a responsible paleontologist. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) wrote a formal letter to United States Attorney Kevin Schieffer, endorsing

990-440: The population. There were 398 households, of which 57.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.9% were married couples living together, 39.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 13.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.1% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

1023-497: The specimens went on sale, including auctioning at Bonhams , but no purchase was made. In 2016, Lindsay Zanno of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences reached out to Phipps, starting negotiations to purchase the fossil, with funds being raised through the private nonprofit Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. However, legal issues over rightful ownership of the fossils slowed these negotiations:

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1056-657: Was 1,156 at the 2020 census . Mission is home of the Sinte Gleska University . It is the largest incorporated community in the county, but is smaller than the unincorporated community of Rosebud , the capital of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe . Mission is named for one of the many missions established by religious groups in the late 19th century to educate and assist the Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) and other Native American people. The major economic center of

1089-430: Was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.30. The median age in the city was 23.2 years. 40.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 17.2% were from 45 to 64; and 5.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.1% male and 53.9% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 904 people, 302 households, and 214 families living in

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