Acrocanthosaurus?

[AJ the Tyrant]

I've got a rarity to try and confirm today, folks. The seller says it's an Acrocanthosaurus tooth. It is from the Cedar Mountain fm. (if I remember correctly, tooth morphology has not been described from this formation) in Grand County, Utah. The serration density per 5mm is about 17 on the mesial side and about 15 on the distal side. Due to its possible rarity, I understand that I may have to provide more information about the tooth, so let me know if there is additional specifications needed.

 

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by AJ the Tyrant

[Troodon]

What you need to know is that material from the Cedar Mountain Formation is part of Grand Staircase -Escalante National National Monument.  So very illegal to collect and sell material from there.  

[AJ the Tyrant]

23 minutes ago, Troodon said:

What you need to know is that material from the Cedar Mountain Formation is part of Grand Staircase -Escalante National National Monument.  So very illegal to collect and sell material from there.  

Unless it was sourced from Arches National Park, would it not be legal? Grand County sits entirely separately from the mounment. The seller also mentioned that it was from private deeded land, which is definitely key.

[Troodon]

Kind of comment I would expect from a seller.  No different, if its Grand County, lots of BLM and State Land.  For example Utahraptor State Park is in Grand County other State lands follow CMF through that locality.  Grand Co. is east of the Green River .  Major fossil sites highlighted on State/BLM land.

 

 

The purple arrow is where the Ruby Ranch Member is exposed  (aptian deposit) and material associated with cf Acrocanthosaurus has been found

 

 

BTW Acrocanthosaurus has yet to be described from Cedar Mountain Fm.  All material assigned to it is identified as cf Acrocanthosaurus.

 

Thats about all I know and can provide.

[AJ the Tyrant]

12 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Kind of comment I would expect from a seller.  No different, if its Grand County, lots of BLM and State Land.  For example Utahraptor State Park is in Grand County other State lands follow CMF through that locality.  Grand Co. is east of the Green River .  Major fossil sites highlighted on State/BLM land.

 

 

The purple arrow is where the Ruby Ranch Member is exposed and material associated with cf Acrocanthosaurus has been found

 

 

BTW Acrocanthosaurus has yet to be described from Cedar Mountain Fm.  All material assigned to it is identified as cf Acrocanthosaurus.

 

Thats about all I know and can provide.

Thank you for the information. I truly appreciate it. I'll see if I can gain more info on the legality of the fossil, though obviously I can only go off of the seller's word (which is always iffy). In your opinion, does the tooth seem to be cf. Acrocanthosaurus?

[Troodon]

Sorry, I dont comment on Cedar Mountain Material

[AJ the Tyrant]

30 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Sorry, I dont comment on Cedar Mountain Material

I fully respect that. Thank you for your input!

[DPS Ammonite]

Take this interactive BLM map to see white colored areas that are private land. Superimpose the private land on top of Cedar Mountain Fm. layers to see where you can collect vertebrates with owner permission.

 

https://blm-egis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6f0da4c7931440a8a80bfe20eddd7550

[Randyw]

One caveat if I may. Some land is seperated by surface and mineral rights. My native american in laws have some land where they have surface and mineral rights and some other land where they sold the surface rights but kept the mineral and subsurface rights….. surface rights allow one owner use it for grazing, building, and farming while everything else falls under the other owners rights…. I never knew about that until we got some blm paperwork listing it…

[AJ the Tyrant]

7 hours ago, Randyw said:

One caveat if I may. Some land is seperated by surface and mineral rights. My native american in laws have some land where they have surface and mineral rights and some other land where they sold the surface rights but kept the mineral and subsurface rights….. surface rights allow one owner use it for grazing, building, and farming while everything else falls under the other owners rights…. I never knew about that until we got some blm paperwork listing it…

That is definitely helpful but also makes things more confusing due to the nature of owning and selling such rights.

[AJ the Tyrant]

7 hours ago, Randyw said:

One caveat if I may. Some land is seperated by surface and mineral rights. My native american in laws have some land where they have surface and mineral rights and some other land where they sold the surface rights but kept the mineral and subsurface rights….. surface rights allow one owner use it for grazing, building, and farming while everything else falls under the other owners rights…. I never knew about that until we got some blm paperwork listing it…

There are definitely a handful of areas of private land that fall within the formation, so it is indeed possible that the seller is being truthful, though obviously proper caution still must be taken since there is such a large area of BLM land.