Moroccan mosasaur teeth

[Notidanodon]

Hi guys I have these 3 similiar mosasaur teeth that I was wondering if it was possible to identify, are they prognathodon   thanks! 
1.

2.

3.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Hi Will,

 

I'd indeed call of these Thalassotitan atrox (so prognathodontine), with the first probably being a pterygoid tooth, the rest of them just being juveniles.

 

@Praefectus

[Notidanodon]

8 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

Hi Will,

 

I'd indeed call of these Thalassotitan atrox (so prognathodontine), with the first probably being a pterygoid tooth, the rest of them just being juveniles.

 

@Praefectus

Thanks so much again!  Pterygoid means back of the mouth right?

[Troodon]

3 hours ago, Notidanodon said:

Pterygoid means back of the mouth right?

 

Second set of teeth

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

4 hours ago, Notidanodon said:

Thanks so much again!  Pterygoid means back of the mouth right?

 

They're a second set of teeth found on the palate of certain extinct and extant squamates - therefore sometimes also called palatine teeth - including anguids; Lanthanotus and a few other varanoids; certain snakes and some iguanids (Estes, De Queiroz and Gauthier in Estes and Pregill eds. 1988, p. 160). And, of course, mosasaurs. Their function is to help push struggling pray items down into the throat, as many of these animals don't chew their food.

[Notidanodon]

@pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon @Troodon thanks so much! Didn’t know that!

[Praefectus]

The teeth are Moroccan mosasaurine tooth crowns. Either Eremiasaurus heterodontus posterior teeth or juvenile Thalassotitan atrox poster teeth. I think I am seeing both anterior and posterior carinae on the teeth, so perhaps they are posterior teeth instead of pterygoids. 

[Notidanodon]

On 3/16/2023 at 6:08 PM, Praefectus said:

The teeth are Moroccan mosasaurine tooth crowns. Either Eremiasaurus heterodontus posterior teeth or juvenile Thalassotitan atrox poster teeth. I think I am seeing both anterior and posterior carinae on the teeth, so perhaps they are posterior teeth instead of pterygoids. 

Ahh thanks! Is there any way I could tell the difference between the two   do you want anymore photos?

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

49 minutes ago, Notidanodon said:

Ahh thanks! Is there any way I could tell the difference between the two   do you want anymore photos?

 

As far as I know, these posterior teeth are virtually indistinguishable from one another. However, as Thalassotitan atrox is much more common in the fossil record, I'd say identification as such is far more likely.

[Notidanodon]

On 3/18/2023 at 2:08 PM, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

 

As far as I know, these posterior teeth are virtually indistinguishable from one another. However, as Thalassotitan atrox is much more common in the fossil record, I'd say identification as such is far more likely.

Sounds great, thanks!

[Praefectus]

On 3/18/2023 at 9:16 AM, Notidanodon said:

Ahh thanks! Is there any way I could tell the difference between the two   do you want anymore photos?

 

Eremiasaurus posterior teeth will be slightly more laterally (labio-lingually) compressed while T. atrox teeth are usually near circular in basal cross-section. Differentiating them from isolated crowns can be difficult, though. 

[Notidanodon]

10 hours ago, Praefectus said:

 

Eremiasaurus posterior teeth will be slightly more laterally (labio-lingually) compressed while T. atrox teeth are usually near circular in basal cross-section. Differentiating them from isolated crowns can be difficult, though. 

Ahh ok thanks I’ll keep an eye out for that  the roots don’t really help with identification do they?

[Praefectus]

30 minutes ago, Notidanodon said:

Ahh ok thanks I’ll keep an eye out for that  the roots don’t really help with identification do they?

No, not really. Sometimes the placement of the resorption pit for a replacement tooth can be taxonomically informative (whether growing to the side or behind).