PaleoNoel Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Hi everyone, tonight I want to share with you one of my favorite finds from the summer, this absolutely tiny theropod tooth I found looking through anthill matrix in Wyoming's Lance formation. It's currently the smallest theropod tooth in my collection and it's always an interesting contrast when compared to my largest personally found tooth (a Tyrannosaurid from Judith River). It's about 3 mm in length and a bit over 1.5 mm in width. I believe the serrations have been worn off as they are incredibly faint in some areas and absent in others. I'm not sure if the way the light gleans off the enamel indicates that it would be any particular species, whether it looks more like the result of the pinched base typical of Nanotyrannus teeth or would count as ridges as seen in Acheroraptor. I would like to know the opinions of my fellow members on it's potential identity and the likelihood of it being from a young juvenile/infant/prenatal individual. Shot in hand from the field: Shots at home: @Troodon @jpc @Runner64 @Jaimin013 @hxmendoza 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runner64 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Wow that sure is a tiny tooth! Nice find! Although serrations are worn off, I would label it as Acheroraptor due to the ridges. Possibly a subadult due to small size? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Nice tooth. I cannot unambiguously say its Acheroraptor. The ridges are very strong which I've seen on Nano teeth. With no serrations visible and more important not being very recurved I would label it as indeterminate. The tooth is not well preserved so its hard to say if it's functional so guessing it to be unerupted in its early stages of development so its unknown what size animal it's from 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 6 hours ago, Runner64 said: Wow that sure is a tiny tooth! Nice find! Although serrations are worn off, I would label it as Acheroraptor due to the ridges. Possibly a subadult due to small size? 2 hours ago, Troodon said: Nice tooth. I cannot unambiguously say its Acheroraptor. The ridges are very strong which I've seen on Nano teeth. With no serrations visible and more important not being very recurved I would label it as indeterminate. The tooth is not well preserved so its hard to say if it's functional so guessing it to be unerupted in its early stages of development so its unknown what size animal it's from Thanks for the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Nice tooth... I cannot say more than these others have said. Anthill finds are the best! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 32 minutes ago, jpc said: Nice tooth... I cannot say more than these others have said. Anthill finds are the best! Indeed! I definitely love the small stuff and anthills have been good to me over the years. In my experience I find Richardoestesia isoceles the most among all theropod teeth. I believe I've found at least six on anthills in the past 3 seasons between the Lance and Hell Creek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdp Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Are the serrations worn off or are they entirely absent? If the latter, this could be some sort of enantornithine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 2 hours ago, jdp said: Are the serrations worn off or are they entirely absent? If the latter, this could be some sort of enantornithine. I thought about enantiornithine as well, but if memory serves me right, the base is tapered inward (pinched) on those guys, no? Maybe we need to see a photo of the base... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 2 hours ago, jdp said: Are the serrations worn off or are they entirely absent? If the latter, this could be some sort of enantornithine. I had considered it based on the small size, but wasn't sure as those I've seen didn't quite fit the shape. 12 minutes ago, jpc said: I thought about enantiornithine as well, but if memory serves me right, the base is tapered inward (pinched) on those guys, no? Maybe we need to see a photo of the base... I believe the serrations are worn off as what appear to be worn denticles are present at the base. I'll get a pic of the base soon, going over to a friend's house tonight and planning on helping him get some stuff ID'd so I'll be away from my own collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Here's a shot of the tiny tooth compared to my largest personally found theropod tooth (Gorgo/Daspletosaurus, Judith River fm.) just for a fun comparison. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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