T-Rex Tooth And Nanotyrannus Tooth

[AJ Plai]

Many serious dinosaur collectors would consider a good T-Rex tooth as probably the Holy Grail item in their dream collection.

I am one of those people who would love to own one of these teeth in a collection. However from my research, online Googling

and Ebay-hounding I have seen a lot of T-Rex teeth being offered online some for 4 digits figures and some in the 2 to 3 digits

price range, though these cheaper ones are either small less than 2 inches or just tooth tip.

While the expensive ones valued at the 1,000s of dollars with big fat long tooth tend to have clear T-Rex-ish features sold by dealers

with mostly good reputation who seem to possess ID and preparation expertise, which I feel do not present much problem for the most

part. Though, it's the smaller ones sold in the range of 100s of dollars that seem to present much more of a gambling when purchasing

since I can see any dealers can simply put "T-Rex" tag on their supposedly "NanoTyrannus" specimen (which I believe isn't technically

or scientifically wrong at this time due to the still disputing in the scientific community - correct me if I am wrong, though) and up the price

or make the deal seem like a steal since for the same size an identified NanoTyrannus specimen would command much less price than

a T-Rex one. To make the matter even more complicated, it seems really hard to differentiate the Nanotyrannus tooth from a T-Rex tooth

with perhaps the exception of getting a microscope to count the serrations/cm. but I think that's not always realistically possible due to

the impossibility of access to the specimen if you are buying online or due to the fact that the serrations may not be preserved enough to

be able to do this effectively.

What I try to get around this issue to minimize possibility of getting burned with my limited experience and accessibility with these things

would be to buy small T-Rex tooth and set acceptable budget in the range that wouldn't exceed the Nanotyrannus tooth specimen too

much. Meaning if I pay for a T-Rex tooth at a close-to-Nanotyrrannus price range, then if worse comes to worst and what I got isn't a

"real T-Rex" tooth then I still got myself a fair priced NanoTyrannus tooth anyway.

Anyone else with expertise in handling, buying or selling these things could add more tips or techniques when purchasing these things

would be greatly appreciated I think it could benefit many new collectors looking to acquire dino-teeth specimen. Thxs!!

Edited February 15, 2013 by AJ Plai

[Paleoworld-101]

You should be looking out for a fat or robust shape with Rex teeth, a D shaped profile and little curvature (when compared with other Theropod teeth). These features are less prominant with smaller teeth so i agree it is harder to tell in these cases, although nevertheless small Rex teeth should still be quite fat for their size (but can vary depending on tooth position of course). And of course large serrations.

This page lists a few small T.rex teeth, as you can see they are quite fat- http://www.indiana9f...s-Rex-Teeth.htm

If a so called T.rex tooth has that "thin blade" shape when looked at side on i would be skeptical.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Paleoworld-101

[Captain Jack]

I guess it depends on whether or not you consider the Nano and the T-Rex to be the same thing, in which case they are all T-Rex. If, however, they are not the same animal then it really is hard to tell, yes T-Rex teeth can be chunkier but where do you draw the line? Things can vary between teeth in the same animal, so who is to say you wouldn't get a more curved, moderately chunky T-Rex tooth potentially? Seems very hard to tell. I've brought some that have both the supposed Nano and also younger T-Rex characteristics and tbh I can't tell which it is.

[AJ Plai]

Hehe thx for the tips and info, anyway let me show u some pics and perhaps u could help judge whether

if these seem legit T-Rex or more in the NanoTyrannus area:

Contestant Number 1 - a Lance Formation specimen:

Contestant Number 2 - a Hell Creek specimen:

Contestant Number 3 - another Hell Creek specimen:

Edited February 15, 2013 by AJ Plai

[AJ Plai]

Another pic of Contestant Number 3 from a different angle:

All these teeth are supposedly marked as T-Rex teeth, all from either Hell Creek or Lance Formations

which are known to be T-Rex occupied.

Edited February 15, 2013 by AJ Plai

[Down under fossil hunter]

I have a few of both in my collections and it can be very hard to tell the difference between the two, throw in Gorgosaurus and Daspletosaurus and it gets even more difficult.

You can use serration count to rule out some teeth however there is a large variance between the minimum and maximum and a lot of teeth could easily fit in both categories.

As posted above, irrespective of size a fat 'D' shaped tooth with large serrations is a good indication however the more convincing it is the higher the price, I have seen 30mm teeth jump over $1000 due to their quality and robustness.

What I have done is spend a little more for one that has these characteristics and go with a seller who really knows their stuff, there are quire a few that dig them up and have sold hundreds of them over the years.

As for the 3 teeth you have posted above it is quite hard to say, the 2nd tooth looks very much like a Rex tooth to me and if I were a betting man I would put money on it.

As for the others, I am unsure. If they are a good price then buy them anyway and you will be able to reference them later on.

Good luck

[grampa dino]

I to have what I think are T-Rex teeth

AS with all fossils the location it's found in is most important ( which means the formation )

Chicken or turtle teeth are far ease to find

[Boesse]

Juvenile Tyrannosaurus teeth are identical to Nanotyrannus (cf. "Jane"). Gee, I wonder why...