Quick ID Guide on Morrison Sauropod Teeth

[Troodon]

Quick guide to help identify a few Sauropod teeth from the Morrison Formation.   Corrections and additional info always appreciated

 

Please Note:

Variations in the morphology of these teeth can vary significantly do to, species, jaw position and ontogenetic changes.  This is just a high level guide.

 

Camarasaurus:

- Crown is wider than the root

- Anterior Teeth are spoon-like and symmetrical,  mid and posterior teeth are asymmetrical

- The crown enamel ends sharply where the root begins 

- Wear facet, if present, can be on both sides of the tip

 

From my collection

14.5 cm long and 7 cm long

 

Jaw mechanics showing wear facets

 

Brachiosaurus

- Crown are only slightly wider or equal to their root

- Teeth are intermediate between spoon-like and peg-like depending on jaw position

- The crowns typically have an axial twist relative to the root

- Crowns are Conical and Chisel-Shaped

- Wear facet, if present, is sharp and at the tip but almost always pointed

- The crown enamel blends into the root area.  Not has sharp of a cutoff as Camarasaurus

 

From my collection 9.5 cm long

 

From the collection of @hxmendoza  from a previous post

 

Jaw mechanics showing wear faceting

 

Diplodocus

 

- Peg-like teeth long and narrow

- Slightly curved teeth

- Crown enamel blends slightly into the root

 

 

 

Jaw Mechanics of Diplodocus showing wear faceting

 

From Supplier,  Paleo Gallery

 

 

Apatosaurus 

Dont have much published on teeth but from examining ones in my collection they appear to be faceted, grooved toward the base some more than others with sharper edges.  More compressed than Diplo.

 

 

Provided by hxmendoza on a previous post, he made similar comments

 

From

Paleo Gallery you can see the faceting 

 

References

1) Tooth Replacement of Euhelopus zdanskyi (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) and the Evolution of Titanosaurian Tooth Morphology, Sept 2014

Salakka, Seela

2) Jaw mechanics in sauropod dinosaurs, Jan 1994

Jorge Calvo

3)The dentition of a well-preserved specimen of Camarasaurus sp .: implications for function, tooth replacement, soft part reconstruction, and food intake. NOV 2016

Kayleigh Wiersma

P. Martin Sander

 

@Masp  hope this helps

[fossilsonwheels]

very helpful post. We just started looking into Morrison sauropod teeth. 

[Masp]

@Troodon Incredible guide and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much for this!

[Runner64]

Very well put together guide Frank.  If you don't mind me asking, one that has fooled me is the difference between Apatosaurus teeth and Diplodocus.  How are we able to distinguish the two as they bear a lot of similarities to me.

[Troodon]

1 hour ago, Runner64 said:

Very well put together guide Frank.  If you don't mind me asking, one that has fooled me is the difference between Apatosaurus teeth and Diplodocus.  How are we able to distinguish the two as they bear a lot of similarities to me.

Thanks added some info to initial post 

[Captcrunch227]

Another brilliant post Frank. Thanks again for providing such an incredibly useful guide

[Masp]

2 hours ago, Runner64 said:

Very well put together guide Frank.  If you don't mind me asking, one that has fooled me is the difference between Apatosaurus teeth and Diplodocus.  How are we able to distinguish the two as they bear a lot of similarities to me.

I had that same question. I own a tooth that was sold to me as Apatosaurus. While Dr Carpenter did say it could possibly be apato, he said it’s likely diplodocid. I guess in most cases it would be easier to tell, but unfortunately it’s a small in situ tooth making it difficult to differentiate between the two species. 

[Troodon]

6 minutes ago, Masp said:

I had that same question. I own a tooth that was sold to me as Apatosaurus. While Dr Carpenter did say it could possibly be apato, he said it’s likely diplodocid. I guess in most cases it would be easier to tell, but unfortunately it’s a small in situ tooth making it difficult to differentiate between the two species. 

Unfortunately most sellers/collectors are clueless in how to properly identify these peg teeth.   Isolated teeth can be very difficult like Ken pointed out so if you really are looking for a specific species wait till you see diagnotic characteristics.   

[paulyb135]

On 06/12/2019 at 6:11 PM, Troodon said:

Quick guide to help identify a few Sauropod teeth from the Morrison Formation.   Corrections and additional info always appreciated

 

Please Note:

Variations in the morphology of these teeth can vary significantly do to, species, jaw position and ontogenetic changes.  This is just a high level guide.

 

Camarasaurus:

- Crown is wider than the root

- Anterior Teeth are spoon-like and symmetrical,  mid and posterior teeth are asymmetrical

- The crown enamel ends sharply where the root begins 

- Wear facet, if present, can be on both sides of the tip

 

From my collection

14.5 cm long and 7 cm long

 

Jaw mechanics showing wear facets

 

Brachiosaurus

- Crown are only slightly wider or equal to their root

- Teeth are intermediate between spoon-like and peg-like depending on jaw position

- The crowns typically have an axial twist relative to the root

- Crowns are Conical and Chisel-Shaped

- Wear facet, if present, is sharp and at the tip but almost always pointed

- The crown enamel blends into the root area.  Not has sharp of a cutoff as Camarasaurus

 

From my collection 9.5 cm long

 

From the collection of @hxmendoza  from a previous post

 

Jaw mechanics showing wear faceting

 

Diplodocus

 

- Peg-like teeth long and narrow

- Slightly curved teeth

- Crown enamel blends slightly into the root

 

 

 

Jaw Mechanics of Diplodocus showing wear faceting

 

From Supplier,  Paleo Gallery

 

 

Apatosaurus 

Dont have much published on teeth but from examining ones in my collection they appear to be faceted, grooved toward the base some more than others with sharper edges.  More compressed than Diplo.

 

 

Provided by hxmendoza on a previous post, he made similar comments

 

From

Paleo Gallery you can see the faceting 

 

References

1) Tooth Replacement of Euhelopus zdanskyi (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) and the Evolution of Titanosaurian Tooth Morphology, Sept 2014

Salakka, Seela

2) Jaw mechanics in sauropod dinosaurs, Jan 1994

Jorge Calvo

3)The dentition of a well-preserved specimen of Camarasaurus sp .: implications for function, tooth replacement, soft part reconstruction, and food intake. NOV 2016

Kayleigh Wiersma

P. Martin Sander

 

@Masp  hope this helps

Very very helpful thank you.

 

I think Morrison formation teeth are my favourite and I’m on the lookout to get the full set at some point with just a few remaining 

[dinosaur man]

Thanks Troodon very interesting, I’ve been trying to find cheap Morrison formation sauropod teeth for a while now I now know when I find one it’s not something else, it’s hard though I’ve been trying to get some sauropod material but it’s very expensive!!

[Runner64]

@Troodon have you noticed, or is there any published work, that identifies different diplodocid taxa?

[Troodon]

7 minutes ago, Runner64 said:

@Troodon have you noticed, or is there any published work, that identifies different diplodocid taxa?

 

Nope, not that I'm aware of.   Love to see one on any of those teeth 

[Runner64]

5 minutes ago, Troodon said:

 

Nope, not that I'm aware of.   Love to see one on any of those teeth 

Considering how many species from that family are found in the formation, I would imagine it is a very daunting task and one I will gladly leave to the professionals !  Lots of position and age variants with few defining characteristics.