Tyrannosaur tooth

[lone5wolf117]

Hello would this be a rex or nano tooth its form hell creek formation ?

[Rockwood]

I'm going to say it is thin enough and squarish enough to be a nano. Better wait for other opinions though.

[-Andy-]

Doesn't look like Rex to me

[Jaimin013]

Hi @lone5wolf117 this is likely to be nano rather than rex, the cross section also indicates this but you would need further info like serration density etc

[TyBoy]

This is from Troodons post on ID of Tyranno teeth and supported the notion that serrations density  does not aid in distinguishing smaller Nano and Rex teeth.  Overall tooth design is key.

 

Everyone is focused on the belief that T-rex serrations need to be under 2/mm for it to be a Rex. The facts do not support that belief. First the Campanian Tyranno study showed that tooth serrations do not aid in distinguishing between taxon and that study included juvenile T-rex teeth. Second, since I did not have a similar Maastrichtian research paper to fall back on I did an unscientific study with teeth from my collection. I sampled a dozen maxillary and dentary teeth from both Nano's and Rex's. Nano teeth ranged in size from 7/16" to 2" and Rex teeth were 1/4" to 4 1/2". I used both juvenile and adult teeth. (all counts were done over a 5mm spread on the distal side mid tooth)

My findings were interesting and surprised me.

In both species the number of serrations decreased in quantity as the tooth became larger.

The serration count results:

 

Nano's : Range from 4.5/mm to 2.7/mm

Size:

7/16 to 1" : 4.5 to 3.4/mm

1" to 2" : 3.1 to 2.7/mm

Rex's: Range 4.3/mm to 1.6/mm.

Size:

1/4 to 1" : 4.3 to 3/mm

1" to 2" : 3.4 to 2.5/mm

2.5 to 3.5" : 2 to 1.8/mm

4.5" : 1.6/mm

[mburkett]

Just to throw in more confusion, it looks Rex to me. Cool etchings!

[bcfossilcollector]

Nice tooth even with the root damage apparent on the enamel. I would like to see a closer image of the base if possible. I do think it’s a Nanotyrannus tooth. The oval shape of the base has me a bit stymied though which is why a closer view may help in identifying this particular tooth. 

 

 

[TyBoy]

Can you post straight in photos of this tooth.. the obtuse angles make it difficult to get a read on it.   Include the base.

[Rockwood]

9 hours ago, bcfossilcollector said:

Nice tooth even with the root damage apparent on the enamel.

So that's what caused it. I'm not sure I have encountered roots that were that hungry. 

[ynot]

3 hours ago, Rockwood said:

I'm not sure I have encountered roots that were that hungry

That's because You are not root food yet, give it time.

 

A long time I hope.

[Rockwood]

35 minutes ago, ynot said:

That's because You are not root food yet, give it time.

 

A long time I hope.

I rather think it's just that I have a gentler dental hygienist.

Roots do dissolve minerals as their feeding process, but enamel, this deeply I doubt. 

[bcfossilcollector]

2 hours ago, Rockwood said:

I rather think it's just that I have a gentler dental hygienist.

Roots do dissolve minerals as their feeding process, but enamel, this deeply I doubt. 

Odd to be sure. I’ve noticed more than a few tyrannosaur teeth from Hell Creek that have exhibited this type of plant root damage. Not sure if it’s caused by pressure or some sort of damaging chemical reaction via contact with a certain type of plant? All these teeth exhibit the same sort of etching damage. 

[Runner64]

9 hours ago, Rockwood said:

So that's what caused it. I'm not sure I have encountered roots that were that hungry. 

Believe it has to do with the acid in the roots which eats away at the enamel when it fossilizes. It’s pretty common in the Hell Creek because it was a a swampy environment.

[Rockwood]

5 hours ago, Runner64 said:

Believe it has to do with the acid in the roots which eats away at the enamel when it fossilizes. It’s pretty common in the Hell Creek because it was a a swampy environment.

The type of roots would make a big difference I guess. I can see something like these Monstera roots doing something on that scale.

This example of root etching is what I'm used to encountering.

[Runner64]

9 hours ago, Rockwood said:

The type of roots would make a big difference I guess. I can see something like these Monstera roots doing something on that scale.

This example of root etching is what I'm used to encountering.

Mhm yes I agree that they look fairly similar. Although I’m sure the severity varies by paleoecosystem. I’ve seen other dinosaur teeth with similar root etchings but none seem to compare to the Hell Creek.