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  1. ThePhysicist

    Hell Creek Tyrannosaur

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Tyrannosauridae Hell Creek Fm., Powder River Co., MT, USA If Nanotyrannus is valid, then this is Nanotyrannus.
  2. ThePhysicist

    Tyrannosaur tooth tip

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Tyrannosauridae Hell Creek Fm., Powder River Co., MT, USA If Nanotyrannus is valid, then this is Nanotyrannus. Note that the serrations wrap around the tip ("apex") of the tooth as is common in unworn Tyrannosaurs.
  3. ThePhysicist

    Dromaeosaurid Tooth

    Identification: This is a typical Dromaeosaurid tooth, with the serrations being differently-sized on each carina; the denticles are much smaller on the mesial carina compared to the distal carina. There's also slight recurvature, which is common in Dromaeosaurs. There are no other features present that allow for identification beyond Family. Described Dromaeosaurs in the Hell Creek Formation include Acheroraptor temertyorum and Dakotaraptor steini. Because both of their known dentitions are incomplete, this tooth may belong to either, or another undescribed Dromaeosaur. Identification further discussed here. Notes: CH: ~ 10.5 mm CBL: ~ 6 mm CBW: 3 mm Mesial denticle density: 8 / mm Distal denticle density: 4.5 / mm There is some minimal feeding wear on the tip, but this tooth is otherwise flawless.
  4. To make a long start to a story short, due to work connections of a relative I recently got invited to excavate a dino on a property. I was quite unsure what I was dealing with until I got there. Aside from the fact this was my first real foray into that part of Hell Creek territory there was a lot that wasn't clear; how well preserved was it? Is it better left to left professional hands? Was it within my ability to excavate (how was the rock, how large was it, etc.). Because of all this I ended up making the 4.5 hour drive to Bowman County with the simple expectation of scouting and seeing what I was dealing with. I ended up leaving with a lot more. Before you invest yourself in the story you should know that nothing substantial was collected, at least not yet. But it is interesting nevertheless. Upon arriving I learned this wasn't the first time someone looked at this site. After visiting the site I learned from the landowner that a group of paleontologists was the first to stay in their loft they offer on the property 20 years ago and they began an excavation then. I was told during this excavation their group found a more complete skeleton in South Dakota and abandoned the excavation mid-dig, covered it with a tarp, and left a bunch of excavated material in the landowner's shed. Aside from what I collected during the brief survey of the excavation site this shed material was also graciously given to me. Affixed to the label was this. The blocked name is the name of the landowner. Did they decide everything they had excavated so far was expendable to rush to their new SD dig site or did they actually end up taking anything more substantial? I don't know. It sounded to me like the landowners weren't aware of them taking anything with (although they had permission). The people on the property drove me out to the site in their UTV and were quite curious about everything. I spent a lot of time answering questions which was quite fun. The tarp over the excavation site lay dormant for 20 years and as you can probably guess was quite silted in and rotten. Initially I began uncovering these tarp pieces slowly to try and get an idea of the site and its fragility but it became clear that very little was exposed under the tarp so we ended up pulling up all the rotten pieces and tossing them aside. Occasionally there was a piece of matrix wrapped in plastic that was peaking out from under the soil. There were also 2 ziploc bags full of bone fragments that were left at the site and, by this point, were filled with soil and mud. Still, both under the tarp and around the fragments of bone were abundant, some rather large although still not diagnostic. During that time I completely forgot to take pictures of the site. I remembered on the walk back to the UTV and snapped this quick pic but I will hopefully be back to take some later. It may be worth excavating the area to see if there is anything more substantial. On the return I talked to the landowner and they mentioned fossils were also collected in the low creek bed on the property by the paleontologists so I also need to survey that. The material from the shed was mostly wrapped in aluminum foil and shoved in a bucket. There's quite a lot of chunkosaur here, at least 60 pounds. You can see the original 20 year old ziploc bags I mentioned I collected from the excavation as well. This area was poorly lit so the images aren't great but my lab is filled with WIP Fox Hills stuff at the moment so I spread it all out here. The previous excavators thought it was important enough to wrap this in plastic (although not to take it with them). This was left under the tarp. Tektite? I If any of the chunkosaur pieces have hopes of ID it's probably from this piece. A femoral or humeral head? I plan to post these off in a ID thread later. These stuck out going through the fragments as more scute like. This piece is just pretty.
  5. Opabinia Blues

    Big Hell Creek bone - a bit of a mystery

    So, this bone was collected by me earlier in the summer from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. Upon collecting this bone I had thought that it was a Triceratops (or other Ceratopsid, I suppose) phalanx based on the shape and my memory of seeing pictures online. I was pretty confident in this ID up until a few days ago, and the following are throwing me: 1. This bone seems really big for a Triceratops phalanx. The other examples I can find online are not this large, but then again Triceratops was a pretty big animal and I’ve underestimated its size before. 2. It’s hard to tell because it is very weathered, but the shape isn’t quite a good of a fit as for a trike phalanx as I had initially thought. Also, the underside of the bone is heavily eroded, which I hadn’t noticed before as I had yet to clean all the mud/matrix off of it. So, I’m posting this here in the hope of getting a few more looks from some other people. Let me know what your thoughts are, and thank you in advance! Obligatory tag of @Troodon Thanks for looking!
  6. ThePhysicist

    Dromaeosauridae distal serrations

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Dromaeosauridae indet. (Velociraptorine?) Hell Creek Fm., Carter Co., MT, USA Crown height: ~ 10 mm ~ 4.5 serrations / mm (distal) NB: "hooking" serrations near the tip, characteristic of members of Velociraptorinae (Currie (1995)).
  7. ThePhysicist

    Dromaeosauridae mesial serrations

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Dromaeosauridae indet. (Velociraptorine?) Hell Creek Fm., Carter Co., MT, USA Crown height: ~ 10 mm ~ 8 serrations / mm (mesial)
  8. ThePhysicist

    Juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex (2)

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Tyrannosaurus rex (Juvenile) Hell Creek Fm., Garfield Co., MT, USA ~ 13 mm crown height ^wonderful art by RJ Palmer Fossil in Collections: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/collections-database/chordata/dinosaurs/juvenile-tyrannosaurus-rex-tooth-r2081/ The lighting wasn't very good, so I might redo this photoshoot later.
  9. ThePhysicist

    Triceratops prorsus (2)

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Triceratops prorsus Hell Creek Fm., Harding Co., SD, USA 3.5 cm height On the ranch where this tooth was found, only T. prorsus skulls have been found in the 30+ years the company has operated there, lending a very probable, precise identification for this Ceratopsian tooth. (T. prorsus was one of the last dinosaurs, younger than T. horridus. The two species are also stratigraphically separated in the Hell Creek Fm., so it makes sense that one may only find one species in a particular deposit.) For most Ceratopsid teeth (from the Hell Creek Fm., for example), only association with an identifiable skull can allow for identification beyond Ceratopsidae indet. Fossil in Collections: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/collections-database/chordata/dinosaurs/triceratops-prorsus-tooth-r2122/
  10. ThePhysicist

    Triceratops prorsus Tooth

    Identification: On the ranch where this tooth was found, only T. prorsus skulls have been found in the 30+ years the company has operated there, lending a very probable, precise identification for this Ceratopsian tooth. (T. prorsus was one of the last dinosaurs, younger than T. horridus. The two species are also stratigraphically separated in the Hell Creek Fm.[2], so it makes sense that one may only find one species in a particular deposit.) For most Ceratopsid teeth (from the Hell Creek Fm., for example), only association with an identifiable skull can allow for identification beyond Ceratopsidae indet. Notes: This tooth is partially rooted with noticeable feeding wear on the crown (the flattened surface). It has some minor repair. The second image shows a close view of the enamel, which has good preservation. Relevant Literature: 1. MARSH, OTHNIEL C., 1889. Notice of gigantic horned Dinosauria from the Cretaceous. The American Journal of Science, Series 3 38: 173-175. 2. SCANNELLA, J. B.; FOWLER, D. W., 2009. Anagenesis in Triceratops: evidence from a newly resolved stratigraphic framework for the Hell Creek Formation. 9th North American Paleontological Convention Abstracts. Cincinnati Museum Center Scientific Contributions 3. pp. 148–149.
  11. Just returned from collecting trip to my usual Edmontosaurus bonebed site in South Dakota. It was one of the worst weather trips over the years I've been collecting with daily AIR temps between 90 to 102 degrees F and winds typically in the 25 mph range and some days gusts hit 40mph. Temps on the bluff were much higher and the winds limited our use of tents so we were constantly blasted with sand and sun. The good news was no rain so despite the hardships one could collect. We targeted getting to the site by 6am and gave up around 2pm. I pass through Hill City, SD to get to our hotel in Belle Fouche so I stopped at my prep person to pick up some finished bones from previous trips. A juvenile (still big) jaw its about 22 inches long (55cm) Collected in 2019 , covid delayed preparation A rare baby jaw a bit smaller than the baby one I found in 2019. This one collected in Sept 2020. About 11.5 inches long (30 cm) A nice jugal 13 inches wide I've posted pictures of the site several times and can be seen on my other trip reports in September and June so I will pass on this report.. We constantly get visitors, lots of snakes in Sept but none this time of the year. This group of yearlings were very interested in what's was going on Baby Toads? were everywhere this year My best find of the trip and pretty cool is what I believe is a Troodontid metatarsal IV. I showed Walter Stein and he agreed and had two in his collection which were a match. It also compared well with the New Mexico's Troodontid Talos. It was not found in the Edmontosaurus bonebed deposit but a Lag deposit that sits on top of it. Very brittle bones and nothing is complete in this layer. Its around 6" long. My most unusual find of the trip is this bone. The wide end is 6" across. Our guess was that it's a pathologic toe bone. I shared the photos with Pete Larsen and he said "weird" but one of the possibilities is digit III phalanx 1 toe bone. Have to clean it up to see if it tells us any more. My largest find is this juvenile tibia, 34" long. I don't like big bones but it was ideal to collect and a keeper. I found it during my Sept 2020 trip and prepared the exposed end to handle the winter. Looked great so proceeded to extract it. Undercutting bone, pedestal to be able to apply plaster cast Plaster jacket using burlap and wood stick Flipped - all good ready to go home
  12. I just returned to the site I mentioned in my previous Hell Creek trip report to give spend the day digging and exploring to see what else was left behind. I also stopped at another property in the morning that I recently obtained permission for. The first site was beautiful and, despite the sparse fossils, was a fun way to start the day. Lower in the layers some very sparse and fragmentary fossil shell material was found but it was really too fragmentary to collect or even get a good photo without bringing macro lenses. The lower portions did transition into coaly matrix of plant materials, mostly bits and stems. Probably the Fort Union Group. Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii) starting to bloom. Arriving at the Hell Creek site I made sure to take pictures this time. This was the original "excavation" site. The remains of the old tarp. Looking up at the site. Digging at the excavation site and sieving produced very little so I eventually went surface gleaning the rest of the property and had a bit better luck. Other parts of the property. I hiked long distances but it was beautiful out, 72 F, and a perfect breeze so I barely noticed. A cute little Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi) was also cooperative in getting its picture taken. All the pricklypear cacti were in bloom. This guy's legs and abdomen were loaded with pollen. I wish I had my camera and macro lens for this.
  13. Nothing new but this was presented at the SVP conference late in 2020 and could be of interest to some. Nothing has been published the and all based on one isolated humerus. Additional discoveries are most likely needed to demonstrate they were in that fauna. A POSSIBLE LAMBEOSAURINE (HADROSAURIDAE: DINOSAURIA) HUMERUS FROM THE LATE MAASTRICHTIAN HELL CREEK FORMATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA Rolleri, L., Gates, Terry A., Zanno, Lindsay E. North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. Both hadrosaurine and lambeosaurine hadrosaurs were common components of Campanian faunas in North America. However, to date, only hadrosaurines (e.g., Edmontosaurus annectens) are definitely known to have survived into the late Maastrichtian on the continent. This is in contrast to the European and Asian record, where lambeosaurine species have been described from Maastrichtian formations (e.g., Amurosaurus, Charonosaurus, Blasisaurus), some of which are hypothesized to be closely related to North American species from the Campanian. Intriguing evidence of a lambeosaurine from the widely prospected Hell Creek Formation (late Maastrichtian) was presented nearly two decades ago, but these data have not yet been published. Here we describe a large, isolated humerus (NCSM 21814, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences) discovered in 1998 in Harding County, South Dakota, that may provide additional evidence on this topic. NCMNS 21814 is robust, bearing a pronounced, triangular deltopectoral crest (DPC). The general proportions of this specimen do not compare well with Edmontosaurus, the only currently accepted hadrosaurid from the formation, and some aspects, particularly a robust well-developed DPC, resemble the morphology of lambeosaurines. In order to more accurately compare NCSM 21814 to other hadrosaurids, we utilized several sources of previously published humeral measurements. In the ratio of DPC length to humeral length, NCSM 21814 is most similar to saurolophine taxa such as Edmontosaurus. However, using morphometrics that include the breadth of the DPC as a variable, NCSM 21814 aligns with lambeosaurines. In addition, the shape of the DPC of NCSM is unusual, in being more triangular than quadrilateral. This morphology may represent an extreme for Edmontosaurus, or may be a feature of a new taxon. Regardless, the discovery of a morphologically atypical hadrosaurid humerus in the otherwise widely sampled Hell Creek Formation, demonstrates higher morphological disparity than © 2020 BY THE SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY 285 currently appreciated amongst hadrosaurids within one of the best studied Late Cretaceous ecosystems.
  14. Trying to differentiate a small to midsize Nanotyrannus and Dakotaraptor is pretty difficult. It appears that Dakotaraptor teeth are not common and sellers are quick to assign Nanotyrannus teeth to them. You need to look at all the characteristics before making a determination on a tooth and it may turn out to be indeterminate. REMINDER we have a limited view of these teeth. We have not see a complete dentition and most likely there some variations in dental positions. What is listed below is our current knowledge based on isolated teeth and the few found with the holotype. Like to thank Walter Stein for his input and allowing me to photograph a tooth in his collection. It's a Dromaeosaurid so it will have similarities to Acheroraptor but there are differences. 1) Smooth Crown These teeth do not have the vertical ridges found in Acheroraptor and are larger and beefier 2) Serration Density The serrations on the mesial (outer) edge are greater than the distal ( inside ) carina (measured midline over 5 mm) Mesial: 5-6 serration/mm Distal: 4-5 serrations/mm These are from Adult Teeth -- juvenile teeth may be greater but there is always a difference Caution: Small Nano teeth can be found with mesial densities greater than distal but are not has fine around 2 to 3 /mm 3) Carina Shape/Location Distal: Extends to the base Mesial: Often does not reach the base and is straight but reach is depended on position. Can end 1/3 from the base. We have yet to understand the morphology of the entire dentition but belive all carinae are straight Nanotyrannus: Mesial carina may have a slight sigmoidal twist not extend to the base depending on location in jaw 4) Shape of Crown/Base Teeth are recurved and compressed. Base is elongate, narrow oval or almond shape in cross-section. Usually has a greater height to length ratio than Acherorapter or Nanotyrannus. Should be 1.6 to 1.9 (Crown Height/Length Base) Nanotyrannus typically has a rectangular base in cross-section Dakotaraptor Oval (From Walter Stein Collection) Dakotaraptor Oval/Almond Shaped (from my collection) Nanotyrannus 5) Size Crowns 7/8" (2-2.3 cm) in the holotype. 6) Denticle Shape Dakotaraptor: Rounded tip Nanotyrannus: Chisel Shape tip Dakotaraptor Nanotyrannus Caution 1 Some of the characteristics overlap between Dakotaraptor and Nanotyrannus so you need to take a look at all of them before you make a call 2 The sample size of Dakotaraptor teeth is very small so we really do not have a good sense of what all tooth positions look like especially with juvenile one. Mesial carina may not extends to the base (red line) but should be straight no twist Examples Foot claws Only foot claws have been found see photo. The large claw is Digit II killing claw and the other claw is typical of the other three claws in the foot. NO hand claws have been found so we do not know what they look like.
  15. Hi all, I could not resist and took another shot on my quest to obtain a Dakotaraptor tooth. Here the tooth in question this time: It was found in the Hell Creek Formation, Garfield County. Measurements are: CH 1,41 cm - CBL 0,68 cm - CBW 0,3 cm - denticles per 5mm are 22 mesial and 19 distal. Note the slight tilt of the denticles towards the tip of the tooth. It's the best fit I have found so far, what deviates from the dePalma description is the shape of the base, it has a pinch, but I would not consider it rectangular. As a side note, it looks exactly like the base of Acheroraptor teeth I have in my collection. But, I am not an expert Thanks for taking a look!
  16. Hi all, thanks to @Troodon and his wonderful guidance I felt confident to purchase my first fossil claw. Now after thorough cleaning and proper documentation I wanted to get your input on a possible ID. The claw was found in the Hell Creek Fm., Garfield County, Montana. It's 1,82 cm (0.72'') in length and as you can see some of the tip is missing. The ventral surface is a bit flat so I guess it's not a Dromaeosaurid, but it also does not look like Anzu to me, but I am a claw-novice. Thanks for taking a look!
  17. I urge caution to all collectors buying or trading from dealers, diggers or fellow collectors. Most collectors, diggers or dealers are honest and trustworthy but not all have a firm handle on identification and I'm seeing this situation worsening not improving. Its not easy even for paleontologists who are trained. I include collectors because like myself, have over the years, been sold misidentified material. So dont trust anything you see offered to you and get it verified. Here is just a sampling of a few items I've run across. Provenance is very important in identification ALWAYS request Formation, State or Province and very important County or Town if in the States or City/Area if Alberta. I see lots of genus/species names being assigned to Ceratopsian or Hadrosaurian bones. Other than Edmontosaurus from the Hell Creek or Lance formations its extremely difficult to assign names to any post cranial material from these families. There are just to many named or yet to be named species from Campanian deposits of formations like Aguja of Texas and the Judith River & Two Med Formations of Montana not to mention Canada. Theropod teeth especially Jurassic ones are very hard to distinguish between one another, photos are just not adequate to validate them. Serration counts and dimensions are needed to try to properly assign them. So request it from the seller. Some real life examples: Very nice Metatarsal listed as a Lambeosaurus from the Hell Creek Fm, Jordan, Montana. Species does not even exist in the HC. Its Edmontosaurus This beautiful vertebra is being listed as a caudal of a Carcharodontosaurus sp., a great collector piece. The description states that the ball and socket indicated how far the tail could swing. Unfortunately the seller is looking at the wrong end of the dinosaur. To me it looks like a cervical vertebra of a Spinosaurid. I did advise the seller a few days ago and he did say a change would be made and the listing has been corrected. Here is a photo of a Sigilmassasaurus for you skeptics This type of tooth from the Kem Kem is an indeterminate Abelisaurid not a RAPTOR, not a Dromaeosaur, not a Deltadromeus Very nice femur being listed as Pachycephalosaurus, its Thescelosaurus .. Very nice rooted tooth being listed as Torosaurus, its a Ceratopsian tooth. There is no way to distinguish Torosaurus teeth from all the other large bodied ceratopsian in the Hell Creek Fm other that if it was found with an identifiable skull. This claw was sold as Troodon from the Judith River, to me it looks like Caenagnathidae This is being listed as a first phalange Toe bone of a tyrannosaur Daspletosaurus. Its a metatarsal of an indeterminate Tyrannosaurid either Daspletosaurus or Gorgosaurus. Unless it was found with some Daspleto diagnostic material, difficult to tell them apart. Seller was advised a long time ago, no changes made. A Daspletosaurus tooth is listed from the Judith River Fm...beautiful tooth but one cannot distinguish teeth between teeth of Tyrannosaurids and Daspletosaurus sp. although assumed to be present its yet to be described from JR deposits
  18. Edmontosaurus annectens may have been the largest dinosaur in the Hell Creek/Lance Formations not T rex. Here is an article that gets into the specifics. https://thesauropodomorphlair.wordpress.com/2021/02/10/size-of-the-duck-titans/
  19. The virus put a damper on my Spring dinosaur collecting trip but I was able to get a partial one in for the Fall. I was able to spend several days at my usual Edmontosaurs bonebed but unfortunately only one day at a channel deposit in Montana where theropod/mammal material can be found. Hopefully next year will be more normal, Hopefully. Quite a few new members since my last trip so I will get into more specifics to get them a view of how I collect this material. First let me share with you a view of the collecting area and the LOCAL wildlife that we deal with on a daily basis. The area in Montana is very remote no phone or internet The badlands where we collect in South Dakota The most beautiful critter that we see everywhere on these sites and all over the west is the Pronghorn. At this time of the year we typically see a small herd with a bull and his harem. For those of you not familiar with a Pronghorn its the fastest animal in the western hemisphere able to achieve speeds in excess of 50 mph (80 km/h) Mule deer are ever present and very dangerous if you are driving when dark The site is located on edge of cliff and over the years lots of holes and cavities have been created by erosion creating a wonderful winter den area for the local snakes. So during our fall trip its not uncommon to have visitors slither by us and of course wishing us good luck by waving their tongue Here are some we have seen this season: The only dangerous one is the Prairie Rattler but they typically are not interested in bothering us. You just have to watch where you are walking. Being from Arizona its normal... The Western Ribbon Snake The Yellow belly Racer The Prairie Bullsnake We do have more cuties' Tiger Salamander after a rainfall On to collecting Other than a pick and shovel these are the tools I use 90% of the time to collect I use two glues, Paleobond field prep and stabilizer. The latter on teeth and when I need a very strong deep bond. Harder to prep with PB002 so its only used when needed. For wrapping the bones Heavy duty aluminum foil does the trick where minimal support is needed . Where additional support is needed on large bones we use burlap and plaster. However plaster cloth like the one in the photo works most of the time and is a heck easier to use than burlap
  20. Squirrelman91

    Hell Creek Claw ID - Dakotaraptor?

    Hi everyone! I have a large claw from the Hell Creek Formation of Harding County, South Dakota that I was hoping to have help identifying. It is large enough that I initially believed it stood a chance at being tyrannosaurid, but it seems a bit more compressed than tyrannosaur claws I’ve worked with in the past - particularly on the lower ridge. The ventral surface of the claw is also distinctly flat rather than rounded, which seems unusual. Could this be a Dakotaraptor claw or is that just wishful thinking? Large Anzu perhaps? It is right around 1.75 inches across the length of the claw (sorry, no metrics on this ruler). I have referred to the incredible guide posted by Troodon, and have some experience with various claws, but I still can’t quite come to a conclusion on this one. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance!
  21. Hi all, I came across this Ceratopsian tooth from the HC Fm. online and was wondering what you make of the 'wear facet' on the root? Did this occur naturally in the jaw while the tooth got disposed of? I have not seen this before so I am curious Thanks in advance!
  22. Calcanay

    Hell Creek vertebra

    Hello! I got this dinosaur vertebra from Hell Creek (Montana) a few years back. It was sold to me as a Triceratops vertebra but I don't know how that ID was made. It's not in the best condition (has moss(?) on it and has been broken and then glued back together) but it is about 13-14 centimetres across so it is clearly from a big dinosaur, but there were plenty of those in Hell Creek (even two large ceratopsids - Triceratops and Torosaurus). Looking for any insight into how an ID could be made here and if Triceratops (or even just ceratopsid) is correct
  23. ThePhysicist

    T. rex posterior dentary tooth

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    A high-quality replica of Stan's posterior right dentary tooth. About 4.5" in length.
  24. ThePhysicist

    Nanotyrannus serrations

    From the album: Dinosaurs

    Distal serrations of a juvenile Nanotyrannus lancensis (Hell Creek Fm., Dawson Co., MT).
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