Triceratops Jaw Section

[keithmegalodon]

Hey TFF,

 

    I found this Triceratops fossil jaw section online and would really like to purchase it. Though, it looks like it had been found in many pieces and prepared okay. I think it would look great in my fossil collection which are mainly dinosaur material, but was wondering if it was worth purchasing because of its condition. What do you guys think? 

 

Thanks for your replies!

 

 

[Troodon]

Do you have a locality where its from? Size?

[LordTrilobite]

Looks like it could be a maxilla. It's the wrong shape for a dentary.

[jpc]

Whether it is worth purchasing because of its condition is totally up to you, really. 

 

Whether it is maxilla or dentary, that we can help with.  Whether it is Triceratops or not, that we can help with.  I say maxilla, as was previously stated.  Also, if it is from the latest Cretaceous formations of the west, it might not be definitely ID-able to Triceratops.  It could also be Torosaurus.  Or a whole slew of other ceratopsians if it is older than Lancian.    

[Troodon]

I found the dealer who is selling it.  South Dakota - Hell Creek 6" long

 

I agree with @jpc that your question is best answered by yourself and you know the price and if the jaw appeals to you from a quality/condition perspective purchase it.  

 

 The other point that jpc makes is very valid.   Sellers love to put Triceratops on every ceratopsian bone or tooth from the Hell Creek/Lance Fm forgetting there are a number of other described species some may be dubious but definitely more than one.  So my reminder to everyone reading this is please do not assume what dinosaur sellers are telling you is valid, check it out for yourself.  Most are not experts and just flip product, that's as real as it gets.

 

I know it does not have any bearing on the purchase decision but could this be a anterior of dentary, see circle

 

 

 

@LordTrilobite

[jpc]

Hellunice jawbone, troodon. And, yeah to what you said.  

[LordTrilobite]

The past few weeks I've been working on a Triceratops dentary at the museum. I think the broken bone on the bottom of the photos is too long. In the position Troodon suggest I think that bone would protude down beyond the bottom edge of the jaw. The size doesn't seem to match imo. Though it's a bit beaten up, the shape seems more suggestive of an upside down maxilla. Though I am less familiar with the maxilla. And these photos aren't exactly very clear so could still be wrong.

 

And yeah, as the others have pointed out. Even if this is indeed a Ceratopsian maxilla or dentary, it's hard to tell for sure if it's Triceratops, Torosaurus or something else. Though of course not everyone agrees on how many species of Ceratopsians are present in the Hell Creek and Lance formations.

[Troodon]

Wish they were mine but my Maxilla is missing the upper portion but these have it.    I just put these in there for reference really need more views to determine location.