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Can a partial tooth or tooth shard be correctly Id'd as a T-Rex?


fossilsonwheels

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My son and I recently started an education non-profit using fossils. Since the little kids love dinosaurs, we decided to include them in our programs. I do not know much about Dinosaur fossils but I am trying learning on the fly. There is no way we can pick up a full tooth or large bone from a T-Rex. our purchasing power is limited. I did find a dealer that has several partial teeth or tooth shards listed as T-Rex. They are affordable for us and did come from Hell Creek. I am apprehensive about buying any of them though because I do not want to drop any money on something called a T-Rex unless I can be fairly certain that is what it is.  I do not possess enough knowledge to ID a partial tooth nor do I know if you even can correctly identify a tooth shard.

 

I will put to this those here with far more knowledge than I have.... Can you ID a tooth shard as T-Rex and if that is possible, what would you look for ?

 

Thank you in advance for any help that I can get

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Show us some photos of your prospective purchases. Then ask a moderator to move this post to the Fossil ID section.

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2 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said:

Show us some photos of your prospective purchases. Then ask a moderator to move this post to the Fossil ID section.

Thank you. I contacted a moderator and I will post some pictures

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What are the sizes of all of the shards only one is shown.  

Edit:

Checked out listings

Shard 1 is actually from the Judith River Fm so its not T rex

Shard 2 is 1 1/8" long by 5/8" wide.  Could be T rex but cannot be certain

Shard 3 could be Trex but equally could be Nanotyrannus.  Fragment too small to be certain and serrations dont jump out and scream Rex but more like Nano.

Shard 4  did not find but needs to have serrations.  

 

Shards are very difficult to call unless they are big, tips of a tooth or serrations are large.  Prices of these fragments are nuts. 

 

 

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While the real deal is tempting, I would be willing to bet for a fraction of the price, you could get a decent replica tooth

Just a thought, as you are on a limited budget. ;) 

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If you want to show the kids real theropod teeth, you can get some nice Carcharodontosaurus teeth for about the same or less than a Rex shard and a fraction of the price for a whole Rex tooth

 

Might not have the Rex's star power but show them a nice picture of it and it should be fine ;)

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7 hours ago, TyBoy said:

What are the sizes of all of the shards only one is shown.  

Edit:

Checked out listings

Shard 1 is actually from the Judith River Fm so its not T rex

Shard 2 is 1 1/8" long by 5/8" wide.  Could be T rex but cannot be certain

Shard 3 could be Trex but equally could be Nanotyrannus.  Fragment too small to be certain and serrations dont jump out and scream Rex but more like Nano.

Shard 4  did not find but needs to have serrations.  

 

Shards are very difficult to call unless they are big, tips of a tooth or serrations are large.  Prices of these fragments are nuts. 

 

 

My first thought was the the prices for a tiny piece of T-rex tooth are ridculous lol I really appreciate your input. My son and I are leaning toward getting a Acheroraptor tooth instead and centering the program around that.

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5 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

While the real deal is tempting, I would be willing to bet for a fraction of the price, you could get a decent replica tooth

Just a thought, as you are on a limited budget. ;) 

That is an option for sure. I think we just keep picking up inexpensive fossils that are not T-rex.

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4 hours ago, Wightlight said:

If you want to show the kids real theropod teeth, you can get some nice Carcharodontosaurus teeth for about the same or less than a Rex shard and a fraction of the price for a whole Rex tooth

 

Might not have the Rex's star power but show them a nice picture of it and it should be fine ;)

That was another option we discussed and a good option. Thank you for that adivce

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