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PaleoNoel

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Hi all! I feel like it's been too long since I last posted something of my own rather than commenting. Below is a picture of a tiny tooth which I initially believed to be crocodilian. I found it when surveying a promising anthill at a microsite in the Lance formation of eastern Wyoming. I was not disappointed! I ended up finding some very nice and very tiny fossils; a vertebra and a tooth both potentially myledaphus, a crocodile tooth (borealosuchus or other) and Richardoestesia tooth with almost invisible serrations! Nearby I found two tiny edmontosaurus teeth and a few partial croc scutes. I affectionately refer to this site by several names; 'The Whale Rocks" (as the harder gray capstones appear reminiscent of our cetacean friends), the sand box (due to the 'floor' of the surrounding area being covered in sand) or the 'Micro-Micro Site' as everything i've ever found there has been shrunken in size from your typical channel deposit. I want to know what you think of this piece which I now believe is one of the premaxillary teeth of the small herbivorous dinosaur Thescelosaurus and I other forum members agree with my analysis. (The tooth itself is only about 4 mm)

IMG_E3361.thumb.JPG.03efd51291e063d1e21fbfc5d9e26699.JPG IMG_E3362.thumb.JPG.a9ebdefc41d11b74eff891576c600f3b.JPG

 

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It looks like one. Here is a picture for comparison. 1_5ee6adf7bcc40fcf3566b6540a765b9a-1.jpg.17a23a1ef0839c41224179c120d75fb8.jpg

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt

 

-Mark Twain

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I have been on a dig a couple times in the Lance Formation in SE Wyoming. Lots of hoodoos and sand.

 

This website is the database with bone catalog for the dig site that I go to. It’s from my university. 

http://dinosaurproject.swau.edu/project/catalog/

I only found one tooth that matched the overall shape or yours searching by Thescelosaur, but it doesn’t really look the same. You can go to the URL below and type in the number below or just search by key word. When you click on it you can click on the menu in top left corner and it will bring up pics.

HRS42604 Thescelosaurus tooth

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What an interesting tooth you’ve found. One thread that might be useful is this one. There’s a couple of good reference photos in there. At first sight, this does look more crocodile-like, but I can see how a partial Thescelosaurus premax is a good shout. The striations on the tooth start quite low down which is interesting. One other option might be a Pachycephlosaurus fang (see link as well) but this would need to see some carina/serrations on one edge  not sure if this exists from the photos. 

 

 

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Nice specimen and nice site :) 

-Christian

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

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7 hours ago, PalaeoArt said:

What an interesting tooth you’ve found. One thread that might be useful is this one. There’s a couple of good reference photos in there. At first sight, this does look more crocodile-like, but I can see how a partial Thescelosaurus premax is a good shout. The striations on the tooth start quite low down which is interesting. One other option might be a Pachycephlosaurus fang (see link as well) but this would need to see some carina/serrations on one edge  not sure if this exists from the photos. 

 

 

I believe there is some form of carina, but it's certainly hard to make out from the photos. I think it's there just looking at it under my loupe.

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