Zapsalis Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 A couple of years ago my grandmother purchased me this theropod tooth offline for a cheap price. The only locality given was Hell Creek, Montana. I took it to my local geology museum and one of the paleontologists who took pictures of it for me told me that the serrations were nearly identical, but he said that it is a dromaeosaurid tooth in his opinion. I think it could be either nanotyrannus, dromaeosaurid or maybe just a theropod indeterminate. It is very worn down. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 The general shape makes me think nanotyrannus. @Troodon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 15 minutes ago, Bone guy said: The general shape makes me think nanotyrannus. @Troodon Yeah, I’m leaning towards Nanotyrannus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Also, the scale of the ruler is in millimeters. I forgot to add that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Serration density is key in diagnosing this tooth. Since they are the same it's not a Dromaeosaurid. Nanotyrannus is a good call. The locality given probably should read Hell Creek Formation from Montana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zekky Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 5 hours ago, Troodon said: Serration density is key in diagnosing this tooth. Since they are the same it's not a Dromaeosaurid. Nanotyrannus is a good call. The locality given probably should read Hell Creek Formation from Montana. Remember Dakotaraptor serrations are a lot closer in size than other dromaeosaurs. I don't think we can rule that species out based on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 11 hours ago, Troodon said: Serration density is key in diagnosing this tooth. Since they are the same it's not a Dromaeosaurid. Nanotyrannus is a good call. The locality given probably should read Hell Creek Formation from Montana. Thanks, Troodon! 5 hours ago, zekky said: Remember Dakotaraptor serrations are a lot closer in size than other dromaeosaurs. I don't think we can rule that species out based on that. But aren’t Dakotaraptor teeth more compressed than this? Also, I remember reading a thread about the difference between Tyrannosaurid and Dromaeosaurid serration shape. Correct me if I’m wrong, as I am only an amateur fossil collector. Maybe @Troodon remembers that thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Dakotaraptor is always a consideration but all Dromaeosaurid's have a difference in density, are compressed and the shape of denticles are not the classic chisel shaped Tyrannosaurid but longer with rounded ends see photo. True Dakotaraptor teeth appear to be pretty rare in the fossil record. Have only seen a few. The shape of denticles in Zapsalis tooth is very Tyrannosaurid like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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