Spinosaurid Rooted Tooth (Composite root?)

[Meatasaurus93]

I recently picked up this "rooted" spinosaurid tooth, and I wanted to get some feedback on it. I have provided both the seller's original pictures and pictures I took of the tooth.

 

My best guess is that there are authentic root elements present, but it's a composite piece. There is a clear seam that runs along the center of the root, indicating that the bottom half of the root was attached to the rest of the tooth. That doesn't always mean that it's a composite, but it's really hard to tell whether the two halves are associated. My inclination is they are not, but I am also not an expert on rooted theropod teeth. The base of the root looks real, but from mid-root up to the base of the crown, it's really hard to tell what is filler and what is root.

 

Normally, I wouldn't pick up a tooth that was this questionable, but the seller assured me I could return it if I wasn't happy with it.

 

I look forward to reading your responses to this topic.

 

Seller's pictures:

 

 

My pictures:

 

 

I circled the seam/break that I mentioned above:

 

[JorisVV]

In my opinion it looks like from the break till the end, seems like a fake root. Im not too sure. @Troodon is more likely to know this for certain

[Troodon]

Difficult call with these new photos, some inconsistencies.  The root texture looks pretty consistent in this photo.  If it was added it you would see something in this view.

 

 

However, this is a bit odd, and might be repaired on one side. 

 

 

The enamel wall looks awfully thick at this point of the root.  The ones Ive see it's pretty thin.   Can you try to clean it up the interal cavity.

 

[Phos_01]

9 hours ago, Meatasaurus93 said:

I circled the seam/break that I mentioned above:

you are correct. The last part of this tooth is a complete fabrication like all others. They have used what looks like a part of a root at the end`.

At this photo you can clearly see it, also on the others . Perhaps it was found with a partial root and put together, however that is very unlikely , its most likely just a composed teeth with a so called root. 

 

Im afraid bellow the crown there is also allot of filler used. You should really try to light it up with a good UV light, you will see the worked on parts. What you will end up with is just a normal decent size Spino crown in my opinion. 
 

[Meatasaurus93]

8 hours ago, Troodon said:

 

The enamel wall looks awfully thick at this point of the root.  The ones Ive see it's pretty thin.   Can you try to clean it up the interal cavity.

 

 

I plan to return the tooth, so I don't want to make any alterations to it that would give the seller a way to back out of the return. I knew I was going to return it the moment I unboxed it because it just didn't look or feel right, but I figured this topic would still be a good one just to have another example of a dubious rooted tooth for people to reference when researching these.

 

I appreciate you guys taking the time to give me feedback to this thread.

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Meatasaurus93