Dino Bones

[patrickhudson]

I didn’t even attempt to mess with the bones, but am curious what it is.  Montana judith river formation.    
I 100% know it’s not a shark

[Troodon]

It a lower jaw of either a ceratopsian or hadrosaur.  Would lean toward a ceratopsian with the shape of the ascending ramus. 

[jpc]

yeah, one of the two.  Nice find.  This is the kind of thing that you would need to make a plaster jacket to collect it and be prepared to spend a lot of time preparing it.  

[patrickhudson]

24 minutes ago, Troodon said:

It a lower jaw of either a ceratopsian or hadrosaur.  Would lean toward a ceratopsian with the shape of the ascending ramus. 

 

21 minutes ago, jpc said:

yeah, one of the two.  Nice find.  This is the kind of thing that you would need to make a plaster jacket to collect it and be prepared to spend a lot of time preparing it.  

I know it’s pretty busted up - but is it the type of thing where I should be looking for a horn or something?  And with all that jaw bone, why no teeth?  Not even one.  

[patrickhudson]

And @jpc and @Troodon you guys are always an amazing resource and help.  Thanks for the time you invest in helping newbies like myself 

[JamieLynn]

15 minutes ago, patrickhudson said:

 

I know it’s pretty busted up - but is it the type of thing where I should be looking for a horn or something?  And with all that jaw bone, why no teeth?  Not even one.  

 

Those are the teeth. 

[Troodon]

You are probably in a channel deposit since you're finding a variety of items.  So its hit and miss what you find. 

 Once the sheath that holds the teeth in place is gone there is nothing holding them in place and they fall out.

Here is an example, see the far right.

 

[patrickhudson]

Different spot for the bones - but the sediment is so tough I probably couldn’t dig much anyway.  Unless I knew there was a horn, then I’d dig like my life depended on it.   
mine doesn’t look quite as nice  

[patrickhudson]

Alright @Troodon @jpc (by the way - does tagging work?).  The oooonly thing I picked up was a loose piece below the bones, as well as a piece of the tooth (socket??).  But that piece sure looks like a lower beak to me.  The lateral groove in the last picture is very similar to the one I found online (circled in yellow).  It seems thicker than some I’m seeing, but would appear to be more posterior and therefore maybe a bit thicker?  Super interested to hear your thoughts.  Sorry about the tilted pics, that’s just how it’s uploading.  

[LordTrilobite]

It's hard to tell, but I think the dentary kinda looks more like hadrosaur than ceratopsian.

[Troodon]

Don't get a beak vibe.  Fragments are a difficult call.

[SULLY]

Nice find!

[jpc]

I'm with troodon.  Hard to say.