Tips in Purchasing/Trading for Dinosaur teeth

[Troodon]

Looks like we have a number of new members who are interested in Dinosaur teeth so I thought this topic might be good for them and serves as a reminder for more experienced collectors.

 

Let me start off the discussion by saying that identifying isolated dinosaur teeth is a challenge even for more experience collectors, so its not a trivial task.  There is no one cookbook that has all the answers, just a number of technical papers and articles that provide some information on different localities or species.   Many of teeth that are sold online carry identifications that dealers have historically ascribed to them but in too many cases these names are not accurate or are out of date.  This is very common not only from Morocco but also North America, Europe and Asia.    New discoveries can change the playing field very quickly and sellers may not be not quick to keep abreast of these changes.

 

So let me recommend the following

1) Locality,  Locality, Locality, cannot say it often enough it is the most important piece of information you can obtain in the identification of a tooth.   Teeth from North American require the following information at a minimum: Geologic Formation, State/Province, and in the States needs to include County and in Alberta nearest town.  The county provides you a check and balance to verify that the formation provided is good.   Locality information that only includes a state or province like Alberta or Montana is not adequate to identify.  Getting complete information from other Geographic locations can be problematic so try to obtain as much as possible.  Do not just accept the use of just a country name like Madagascar or Niger need specifics.

 

2)  Do not trust any identification you see on a tooth.  I don't care if its from a trusted dealer, a dealer you've done business with before, a friend, a member of this forum or any auction site.   You need to be the expert.

 

3)  Educated yourself as much as possible, read papers, books or informational topics on this forum.   Ask questions and post your interest here on the forum B4 you buy or trade.

 

4)  Photos: Other than the obvious ID's you cannot look at the front and back of a theropod tooth to determine what it is, especially Triassic and Jurassic material.   At a minimum photos needed are from both sides, base and closeup of the serrations.   If someone is not interested in providing you these photos, move on and purchase/trade from someone else.  (see below)

 

5)  Additional characteristics may be required and that will be dependent on what you are buying.  These include serration density at the midline of both carinae, width and length of the base and how far the mesial carina extends to the base.  Again if someone is not willing to provide you this information just move on. 

 

6). Purchase/Trade for quality teeth, the better the preservation the higher chance you have in getting an accurate ID.  Teeth missing a significant portion of serrations on one or both edges, or very worn herbivore teeth can be very difficult to properly diagnose.   Avoid buying: worn, cheap or incomplete teeth, save your money on better Q ones, exception being extremely rare teeth.

 

7)  Avoid restored teeth unless it minimal or done on super rare teeth. Repairs are acceptable that includes crack fill or reattachment of broken teeth..

 

8)  More often that not you will not be able to identify down to a species name so its acceptable to have your tooth identified to a genus or family name.  examples include: Tyrannosaurid indeterminate or Daspletosaurus sp. .  Be patient someday your tooth may be fully described.

 

9) Yes unfortunately it takes work to properly identify a theropod tooth where most sellers won't take the time and just rely on photos or what the digger claims. 

 

Here are a couple of illustrations to help understand tooth terminology if asked to provide information.

From " A proposed terminology of theropod teeth (Dinosauria, Saurischia) by Hendrickx, Mateus et al  (2015) "

 

 

Ideally photos should show all sides

 

 

 

[Bobby Rico]

This is a really great post. I hope it will save some collectors money and from very disappointing forum IDs.

Is this also a post to be pinned?

Thanks Frank for sharing your time and knowledge .

 

 

[TyBoy]

Thank you this is super helpful

[DPS Ammonite]

I second the pinning.

[Fossildude19]

As this is an information/answer  post, I've moved it from General Fossil Discussion to Questions and Answers, and pinned the topic. 

 

[JohnBrewer]

Excellent informative post, thanks Frank. 

[sixgill pete]

On 4/2/2018 at 4:47 PM, Fossildude19 said:

As this is an information/answer  post, I've moved it from General Fossil Discussion to Questions and Answers, and pinned the topic. 

 

Thanks Tim. @Troodon thanks for this great informative post Frank.

[Troodon]

Thank you all for the support, hopefully it achieves some positive results.

[hxmendoza]

Nice job Frank!

[paulyb135]

VERY helpful topic for a new member like myself 

 

thanks!

[-Andy-]

Great informative post!

[Jaimin013]

Thanks for the invaluable advice!

[SULLY]

It’s nice to see someone knows what they are talking about. Thank you very much for all the guidance and help!

[Joeri_R]

Thank you for this post and putting your time in writing this.

Just by one click you can find dino teeth for sale on various websites. As a newbie I would probably end up with a fake, or with a tooth with wrong ID. I have never bought dino teeth before except from a friend of mine. But this post wil surely help me next time I would add some tooth to my collection.

 

I guess it's the same with shark teeth. Only when it's fully preserved you can identify the tooth with certainty  

 

Thanks! 

 

[ynot]

4 hours ago, Joeri_R said:

 

I guess it's the same with shark teeth. Only when it's fully preserved you can identify the tooth with certainty

There is a wide range of shark tooth shapes. Some are easily identified even when worn or damaged and others are hard to separate even when in pristine condition. Some can only be separated by known age.

[Riollo]

i am always impressed with how much detailed information is included in posts like this! SO well written and easy to understand. You guys are really making this easy for us novices who are just getting going!

[GTS]

Thankyou for this, Frank, much appreciated