Is this Triceratops scapula? Thanks

[baolong]

15 minutes ago, ThePhysicist said:

If you are a proponent of the validity of Nanotyrannus, then the dentition of juvenile Tyrannosaurus is wholly unknown. In this case, all of these smaller tyrannosaurid teeth should be considered indeterminate. 

Yes, you are right. But it is a safe answer.

I really want to know what you think about it.

Thanks.

[ThePhysicist]

1 hour ago, baolong said:

Yes, you are right. But it is a safe answer.

I really want to know what you think about it.

Thanks.

That is really what I think. If two categories are differentiated by a set of unknown characters, there's no logical way to accurately place an object into either category.

[hadrosauridae]

6 hours ago, ThePhysicist said:

That is really what I think. If two categories are differentiated by a set of unknown characters, there's no logical way to accurately place an object into either category.

 

I wouldnt say it was a set of unknown characters.  For the specimens of "nano" there is a difference in tooth morphology.  Its a very clear difference between smaller nano and obviously large rex, however there are teeth, such as the examples here that do seem to blur the line.  Especially the larger tooth posted here.  For a rex it seems much too slender, but for nano the base seems too wide.

 

It shouldnt be a surprise to anyone though, especially with theropod teeth, that there is a huge amount of similarities between species. The first question when people ask about an unknown ID, is "where was it found" because we cant give a good ID if we dont know the formation and hence the faunal list to choose from.

[baolong]

9 hours ago, ThePhysicist said:

That is really what I think. If two categories are differentiated by a set of unknown characters, there's no logical way to accurately place an object into either category.

I respect that. Thanks!

[ThePhysicist]

On 11/8/2024 at 6:23 AM, hadrosauridae said:

For a rex it seems much too slender, but for nano the base seems too wide.

I see what you're saying, but that touches on my point, what's "too slender" and "too wide"? In your framework, we would have a very incomplete understanding of these animals as it pertains to ontogenetic changes.

 

It's entirely possible that young rex could also be ziphodont, and/or more mature Nanotyrannus could approach incrassate. If we knew their dentition followed the same statistical properties throughout their growth, we could more properly assess them since we have that data. Since we don't, we can't. I'll leave the discussion at that.