Jump to content

Theropod Teeth Morphology - Kem Kem Basin


Troodon

Recommended Posts

Isolated theropod Teeth from the Kem Kem Basin continue to be a mystery.  Plan on documenting all the different morphologies I have in my collection to see the variation that exists.   Currently we cannot identify any one to a specific species or genus possibly family.    I can provide discussion and aid in identification at some point.  Just a note, different morphologies do not necessarily mean different species.  There are lots of tooth variations in the dentition of a theropod, why its so difficult to nail down an ID even in the best of circumstances.

 

 

Morph Type 1

Anterior Tooth (possibly Carcharodontosaurid)

Distal margin is almost straight

Mesial margin strongly recurved

Mesial carina extends 3/4 crown height 

Denticles are oriented towards the tip 

Serration Density:

   Distal - 2/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial - 1.7/mm (More dense toward the base)

 

5a8215c44d74d_Morph1.thumb.jpg.ed800c2f5bfbf81f4ad330dfc71b4986.jpg

 

 

 

Morph Type 2  (possible Carcharodontosaurid)

Anterior Tooth

Distal margin is slightly concave

Mesial margin strongly recurved

Mesial Carina extends to the cervex

Denticles are oriented toward the tip

Interdental sulci present

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial: 1.9/mm (More dense toward the base)

 

5a8215c8e91a5_Morph2.thumb.jpg.44af43ac6a8c9235d6bdc57e8d1dbbc8.jpg

 

 

 

Morph Type 3 (possibly Carcharodontosaurid)

Dentary? Mesial

Mesial carina extends 3/4 crown height

Denticles parallel to the base and rounded at tip

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2.2/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial: 2.4/mm (More dense toward the base)

 

601d3a3b7ea84_Morph3A.thumb.jpg.1783953cf887310142103ef58bb267b4.jpg

 

 

Additional Example

5a82e9922dbcf_Morph3Add.thumb.jpg.a0b4889bf448d1cc4edef8b31ff96e6a.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 4 (Possible Dromaeosaurid like)

Lateral Tooth

Tooth is recurved

Mesial Carina extends to 3/4 crown height with a lingual twist

Denticles parallel to the base

Serration Density:

   Distal: 3.6/mm 

   Mesial: 4.6/mm

 

5a8222e641222_Morph4.thumb.jpg.2b8dfc8b9635e5eca1f8cfa30328226e.jpg

 

Additional Example

Serration Density: Distal 3/mm, Mesial 5/mm

5a82fd17bd9cd_Morph4add.jpg.169df498858f844527473df062000463.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 4A (Dromaeosaurid like)

Tooth is slightly recurved

Mesial Carina extends to base with a lingual twist 

Denticles parallel to the base

Serration Density:

   Distal: 3.6/mm 

   Mesial: No Serrations

 

5a82f41058d6e_Morph11A.thumb.jpg.83eb004cb39b62db9702310f407ee7d6.jpg

 

Additonal Example

Serration Density: Distal 3.3/mm, Mesial: No Serrations

5a8307ea7d3e9_Morph11ADD.thumb.jpg.6bcbef0963297b7160411e67be475a54.jpg

 

 

  • I found this Informative 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morph Type 5 (Dromaeosaurid like ?)

Lateral Tooth

Tooth is strongly recurved, compressed

Mesial Carina extends to 1/2 crown height, centrally located

Serration Density:

   Distal: 4/mm 

   Mesial: 5/mm

 

Morph5.thumb.jpg.2c699e409ae818b99fb840f8fda965a3.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 5 (May not be Dinosaurian)

Distal margin very straight

Mesial margin slightly recurved

Denticles are very small but rectangular under a microscope  

Serration Density:

   Distal: 5/mm 

   Mesial: 5/mm

 

5a822547b0b23_Morph6.thumb.jpg.b8fd4f59ccbb1f1cff0776b3b1290315.jpg

 

Additional Example

5a82cbac698ec_Morph6A_edited-1.jpg.59978a5887c6d79813c5c0017dad141d.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 6

Lateral tooth

Tooth slightly recurved

Transverse undulations present

Mesial carina extends to the cervix

Denticles are very fine,

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2.8/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial: 2.6/mm (More dense toward the base)

 

Morph8B.thumb.jpg.db46843dafd78c6ac88882775cffb0a4.jpg

 

Additional Example

Morph8BAdd.thumb.jpg.0d612890c80b30a365e3e83ed905577a.jpg

 

 

 

  • I found this Informative 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morph Type 7 (Abelisaurid indet.)

Lateral Tooth

Very Compressed

Distal margin perpendicular to the base

Mesial margin strongly recurved

Distal denticle orientation is toward the tip

Carinae extend to the base

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2.5/mm

   Mesial: 2.6/mm

 

Morph9.thumb.jpg.3e517936d601a8f409ea651c6bfe8644.jpg

 

Additional Example

5a82ed9e2c89a_Morph9Add.thumb.jpg.d29d7b1d9526c55a0cf36d865fc883dd.jpg

 

 

 

Morph Type 7A (Abelisaurid indet.)

Typical Morph Type 7 but positional (Pre-Maxillary)

Denticles on both edges orient toward the tip

 

5a82cbefcbce8_Morph9A.thumb.jpg.a8562b4ed1a3c5c3fcbdccaf930012d2.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 7B (Abelisaurid indet.)

Lateral Tooth

Very Large compared to Morph type 7 & 7A (50 mm) (Adult?)

Distal margin perpendicular to the base

Denticle orientation is toward the tip

Carinae extend to the base

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2.2/mm

   Mesial: 2.2/mm

 

5a8302e505bf6_Morph12.thumb.jpg.4173b1f2a9f65faedcf38fe8909329e7.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 8 

Position unclear

Very Compressed, Bowed 

Distal margin perpendicular to the base

Mesial margin strongly recurved

Mesial carina extends to 3/4 of crown height

Interdental sulci present (Blood grooves)

Serration Density:

   Distal: 3.5/mm

   Mesial: 3.5/mm

 

5a82cbf4334a7_Morph10.thumb.jpg.084313d17fe479b9bceb6b9e76396923.jpg

 

Additional Example

5a82e82412305_Morph10EX.thumb.jpg.033d11646eaee8976be52994cc1fed95.jpg

  • I found this Informative 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morph Type 9  (Spinosaurid indet.)

Vertical ridges on both sides of the crown (one side strongly developed, weak on other)

Carinae present around midline of the tooth

5a831912647ec_Morph13A.thumb.jpg.a1f75e3c520a51f4b4dee49293ba5437.jpg

 

Morph Type 9A  (Spinosaurid indet.)

Vertical ridges on only one side of the crown 

Carinae present around midline of the tooth

5a831916b9976_Morph14.thumb.jpg.766445116bc99f4080764e6f39e9930c.jpg

 

Morph Type 9B  (Spinosaurid indet.)

Vertical ridges absent on both sides of the crown 

Carinae present around midline of the tooth

Morph9B.thumb.jpg.1f0be4e2d0e3372826fcca893dfd7416.jpg

 

Morph Type 10 (Carcharodontosaurid indet.)

Anterior tooth

Distal margin is slightly concave

Mesial margin recurved

Mesial Carina extends to the base

Denticles are oriented toward the tip

Interdental sulci present (Blood Roots)

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial: 1.6/mm (More dense toward the base)

5a8327b052c99_Morph15.thumb.jpg.37ce16b06648acf4718559575ae8189f.jpg

 

Morph Type 10A (Carcharodontosaurid indet.)

Anterior lateral tooth

Distal margin is slightly recurved

Mesial margin recurved

Mesial Carina extends to the base

Interdental sulci present (Blood Roots)

Serration Density:

   Distal: 2/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial: 1.6/mm (More dense toward the base)

5a8337d9c24ce_Morph16A.thumb.jpg.fcc6041082e24b6fa823c0c28311e806.jpg

 

 

Morph Type 10B (Carcharodontosaurid indet.)

Distal lateral tooth

Distal margin is fairly straight

Mesial margin recurved

Mesial Carina extends to the base

Interdental sulci present (Blood Roots)

Serration Density:

   Distal: 1.8/mm (More dense toward the base)

   Mesial: 1.5/mm (More dense toward the base)

5a8337dd99469_Morph17.thumb.jpg.28b73d90d1e486c623a8212189833214.jpg

 

Additional Example of a Infant Tooth

Crown Height: 12 mm

Serration Density

    Distal: 3.6 mm

    Mesial: 3.5 mm

5a8342337d2c3_Morph17ADD.jpg.9998664b7ddc53ea4477f55e41c04263.jpg

  • I found this Informative 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

An awesome post troodon I have around 25 small teeth that i have either classified as abelsauride or dromaeosaurid I can take close up pictures of all of them if you like including the 3 carchar teeth as one is very small might help with serration count and id for juveniles.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great job, @Troodon, for putting it all together!!

I actually thought of another idea for this type of teeth.

5a8225478281e_Morph6.jpg.d635a519195f4106fc4ce116eea844bd.jpg

 

At first I thought that they are from Aegisuchus (but its dentition is unknown, and related Laganosuchus lacks serrations completely and has perfectly symmetrical crowns, although Aegisuchus is larger, so who knows).

*Also relatively thin jaws of Stomatosuchids are unlikely to have teeth with long roots like these ones

Like this

image.png.ed2d4d07f02c63684d9907933085d5aa.png

But what do you think about anterior Hamadasuchus? Looks like there is enough space to house root this size and they are also finely serrated and slightly distally recurved and have very fine labial/lingual ridges. 

Cranial osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Hamadasuchus rebouli(Crocodyliformes: Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Cretaceous of Morocco

 

Details of the cranium of Hamadasuchus rebouli(ROM 52620). Upper details are to same scale; scale bar = 10 cm. Details of the dentition are to same scale; scale bar = 2 cm.

 

Araripesuchus anteriors are different, they have much wider crowns and larger mesial and distal depressions near the base.

  • I found this Informative 3

The Tooth Fairy

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Anomotodon said:

Great job, @Troodon, for putting it all together!!

I actually thought of another idea for this type of teeth.

 

At first I thought that they are from Aegisuchus (but its dentition is unknown, and related Laganosuchus lacks serrations completely and has perfectly symmetrical crowns, although Aegisuchus is larger, so who knows).

*Also relatively thin jaws of Stomatosuchids are unlikely to have teeth with long roots like these ones

Like this

 

But what do you think about anterior Hamadasuchus? Looks like there is enough space to house root this size and they are also finely serrated and slightly distally recurved and have very fine labial/lingual ridges. 

Thanks, I was thinking it could be a Crocodylomorph but its a very compressed tooth and did not see any matches with those you suggested.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another great thread, thanks Frank. 

 

Could you explain the physical differences be anterior/posterior (I know @Anomotodon has touched on this) maxillary/mandibular, determining adult/juvenile, distinguishing between different genus and anything else you may think of.  

 

Would be nice to make an educated guess on my teeth and I’m sure others would be interested. 

 

Maybe if a standard way of detailing Kem Kem teeth (such as the way photographs should be taken of the teeth, setation count &c) members could have a Kem Kem teeth gallery. I think this would be hugely beneficial both for the forum and a wider audience. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JohnBrewer said:

 

Could you explain the physical differences be anterior/posterior (I know @Anomotodon has touched on this) maxillary/mandibular, determining adult/juvenile, distinguishing between different genus and anything else you may think of.  

 

Good Question

Always a good general reference

 

What is true in this graphic is also good in the jaw

 

post-10935-0-28406200-1472133964.jpg.1bf1c707839fe606a8c0e1b0046992d2.jpg

 

When we talk about teeth we are addressing those found in the Premaxillary, Maxillary and in the Dentary (or Mandible) positions of the jaw.  They are typically all different, some more than others, why its so difficult to ID teeth. 

You can see it here in our Spinosaurus illustration

 

2000px-Spinosaurus_skull_en_svg.thumb.png.982894cd0a76f4c6020a771ba292a951.png

 

Tooth Anatomy

Theroteeth.JPG.fe31dc15e53d734910beb94e61aca1e2.JPG

 

Adult or Juvenile?

It can be very difficult to determining if its an adult or juvenile tooth. Replacement teeth and Unerupted teeth get in the way.   If you look at the jaw of a theropod there are all size teeth in it.  

 

1-s2.0-S0195667116300192-gr1.thumb.jpg.6f546b47f37464345d70c8e6ca7e1f6b.jpg

 

 

Identification of isolated teeth is extremely hard since you have so many similar teeth from different species and all the variations in the jaw.  Comparative methods are the best and technical papers is the way to go.  Why we have this topic..this is what is lacking from the Kem Kem....little to go with.. 

 

  • I found this Informative 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have posted these on the forum before. But I'll link them here again for easy reference. I have a number of Kem Kem teeth, but I have also scanned a few of them.

 

I think this one fits morphotype 7 quite well. Although it's much stubbier than your slender example. Specimen is 1.9 cm tall

 
Similar to your morphotype 7a. but the base seems a little wider.

A rather large example of morphotype 9 (Spinosauridae indet.) Specimen is 9 cm tall.

 
And both my Carcharodontosaurid teeth look like they fit with morphotype 10b
  • I found this Informative 6

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Haravex said:

morph type 9b for your use in this highly informative post.

 

Thanks have added but are there Carinae present at the midline of the tooth.  Not apparent in your pictures @Haravex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remembered that I also have almost morph 9b tooth, but I thought it is simply a straight Elosuchus tooth. What do you think? It has some very fine randomly spaced wrinkles that I have seen on other crocodile teeth. Although Haravex tooth definitely looks like a spino.

 

elo.thumb.jpg.7d8af1465d43d66ace189b25bd60afd0.jpg

  • I found this Informative 2

The Tooth Fairy

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Anomotodon said:

I remembered that I also have almost morph 9b tooth, but I thought it is simply a straight Elosuchus tooth. What do you think? It has some very fine randomly spaced wrinkles that I have seen on other crocodile teeth. Although Haravex tooth definitely looks like a spino.

 

 

Are there carinae present midline of the tooth both sides

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to add that that type 9b only appears in the upper regions of the kem kem beds aka Ifezouane formation and also these teeth i have personally never seen above 2.5 inches or the golden 70mm mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's another morph type 4 tooth.

 

Moroccan_Raptor.thumb.jpg.40f7471b40676150e4ba3b934e21e591.jpg

 

5a84e423e7268_Raptor1.jpg.3985227fb1d38ba071ff951d5dad5c34.jpg5a84e427456ab_Raptor3.thumb.jpeg.db015d8ecd3cccb4341d875423401a7c.jpeg5a84e429108d2_Raptor4.thumb.jpeg.dd61471ca0bf35165acf56c53b1f8681.jpeg5a84e42ad96cf_Raptor5.thumb.jpeg.3f13eb10cc37180fc48ccad1765276ce.jpeg5a84e4253e56e_Raptor2.thumb.jpg.ee00b26e9d80eadab742f296025c462d.jpg

 

  • I found this Informative 2

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Troodon said:

Are there carinae present midline of the tooth both sides

Yes, carinae are developed and in the middle of the tooth (from both mesial and distal view).

The Tooth Fairy

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Anomotodon said:

Yes, carinae are developed and in the middle of the tooth (from both mesial and distal view).

I would then say they are Spinosaurid...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the input and comments.

 

Appreciate the examples provided and if there are more its welcomed.

 

Hopefully we can start to put some family names to the one that are missing..would like some help from the scientific community with some new publications.  :D

 

 

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Troodon said:

I would then say they are Spinosaurid...

Interesting, then I will have to change this picture in my gallery.

The Tooth Fairy

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been doing some reading up on Spinosaurus teeth.

 

So, in Results of Prof. E. Stromer's Research Expedition in the Deserts of Egypt there is quite an extensive description of the teeth of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus holotype. Stromer describes the teeth as being "scarcely to very slightly recurved". But here's where it gets interesting. The enamel is described as such "Their enamel is in general smooth, only at the base is it sometimes finely vertically streaked and so finely wrinkled that one sees it only with the magnifying glass."

I'm not sure if it's an artifact of translation from German, but Stromer sometimes uses phrases that seem a little strange, so I'm not quite sure of by "vertically streaked" he means that the enamel is faceted or fluted. the lack of standardised terms can sometimes be really annoying. No vertical streaks appear on Stromer's drawings of the teeth of the holotype.

But it is very clear in that most of the enamel is smooth. And the holotype included teeth from both the lower and the upper jaw. Near the end of the paper he also notes that the teeth of Spinosaurus completely lack serration on the keels/carinae.

 

There's also a paper from 2002 that talks about a Spinosaurus specimen from Tunisia and it's implications.

A new specimen of Spinosaurus (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Tunisia, with remarks on the evolutionary history of the Spinosauridae

Here Buffetaut and Ouaja identify a dentary fragment on the jaw and teeth morphology as Spinosaurus cf. aegyptiacus. They also note that the teeth are quite different from those of Baryonyx, which has clear facets on the enamel as well as serrations on the carinae.

 

In A new specimen of the theropod dinosaur Baryonyx from the early Cretaceous of Portugal and taxonomic validity of Suchosaurus you can also see some great pictures of Baryonyx walkeri teeth with facets, serrations and enamel wrinkling.

 

To recap:

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus teeth

- generally smooth enamel with some wrinkling

- if facets are present at all, not as strong as Baryonyx

- no serrations on carinae

 

Baryonyx walkeri teeth

- faceted crowns with some wrinkling

- serrations present on carinae

 

Clearly we need more and better specimens of Spinosaurids from the Kem Kem beds. But, it seems that some teeth could tentatively placed in Baryonychinae or Spinosaurinae, as it might be more likely to be Sigilmassasaurus if serrations are present or Spinosaurus if serrations are absent.

 

 

Edit: Though I still need to read the whole thing. In the description of Irritator (which is generally considered to be closely related to Spinosaurus and less to Baryonyx) has strong fluting on the tooth crowns like Baryonyx does. It also mentions wrinkles on the enamel of some teeth.

  • I found this Informative 7

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...