Pectinodon tooth

Taxonomy

Troodontid

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Avetheropoda
Family: Troodontidae
Genus: Pectinodon
Species: Pectinodon bakkeri
Author Citation Carpenter, 1982

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Cretaceous
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Late
International Age: Maastrichtian

Stratigraphy

Hell Creek Formation

Provenance

Collector: N. Pearson
Date Collected: 08/27/2023
Acquired by: Field Collection

Dimensions

Height: 7 mm

Location

Garfield County
Montana
United States

• c(hc)pb5
• hell creek
• hell creek formation
• microfossil
• pectinodon
• pectinodon bakkeri
• troodontid
• troodontidae

Comments

Identification

Troodontid teeth may be identified by their exaggerated, triangular, apically directed posterior denticles¹. Pectinodon bakkeri is the only Troodontid species currently named from Lancian strata; its teeth are on average smaller and more gracile than those of its cousin, Troodon.

Comments

This is a large anterior dentary tooth, recovered by screening matrix from a channel deposit in central Montana. 

Pectinodon (meaning "comb-tooth")¹ is a tooth taxon, since no remains attributable to the genus beyond teeth have been found. Pectinodon seems to be a rare member of the Hell Creek fauna, with their teeth being fairly uncommon. It was a small theropod, with teeth that couldn't handle stresses as well as their Dromaeosaurid and Tyrannosaurid relatives². This coupled with their small size suggest that Pectinodon was a small/soft prey specialist, preferring the rodent-sized mammals of the time, lizards, insects, etc. Some researchers have proposed omnivory as a possibility for Troodontids (cf. Holtz et al. (1998))³.

References

1. Carpenter, Kenneth. "Baby dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Lance and Hell Creek formations and a description of en new species of theropod." Contributions to Geology 20.2 (1982): 123-134.

2. Torices A, Wilkinson R, Arbour VM, Ruiz-Omeñaca JI, Currie PJ. "Puncture-and-Pull Biomechanics in the Teeth of Predatory Coelurosaurian Dinosaurs." Curr Biol. 2018 May 7;28(9):1467-1474.e2. 

3. Holtz TR Jr, Brinkman DL, Chandler CL. "Denticle morphometrics and a possible omnivorous feeding habit for the theropod dinosaur Troodon." Gaia. 1998; 15: 159–166.