8/24/2023 0 Comments Show me a picture of t rex![]() Its side teeth were more widely spaced and were for tearing flesh. The front teeth were closely packed, were more chisel-like that the rest, and were for gripping and pulling. Tyrannosaurus rex had approximately 60 robust serrated teeth that were wide and dull compared to the flat and dagger-like teeth of other carnivorous dinosaurs. Pre-Dentary - The bones at the front of the lower jaw. Pre-Maxilla - The bones at the front of the snout that often bear teeth.ĭentary - Bones forming the lower jaw that typically contain teeth. Maxilla - Bones forming the upper jaw that typically contain teeth. Root - Part of the tooth embedded in the jaw.Ĭrown - Part of the tooth above the jaw and typically covered with enamel.Įnamel - Hard and shiny outer surface of teeth. This is an extreme example, but it points out how assuming the mountain dinosaur lived on the floodplains based only on tooth remains can be problematic.Ĭarinae - The ridges that typically form the sharp edges of therapod teeth.ĭenticles - The serrations that form on the carinae. It’s unlikely that skeletal remains will be found from mountain dwelling dinosaurs, but their teeth could flow down the mountain to be deposited in the floodplains far below to mingle with teeth and skeletal remains of dinosaurs that lived in that river environment. Teeth are often small and can tumble downstream in a current much like any stone or pebble. Isolated teeth like these can give hints as to how many different species lived in an area, however fossilization favors ecosystems where water is present and finding only teeth from an animal may be deceiving. This is the case with the elusive Moroccan “raptor”, known only from plentiful teeth found in the desert, yet no skeletal remains have been discovered. Many times fossil teeth are all that are known of a species. Many theropods lose teeth while digging into their meals and they’ve occasionally been found embedded in the fossilized remains of their prey. The tiniest teeth likely belong to the needle-like teeth of the paravian dinosaurs like Microraptor. This measurement includes the root of the tooth with the exposed portion being around 6”. ![]() Tyrannosaurus rex is the reigning king of tooth size with the longest recorded tooth being 12” long. This variation in tooth shape sometimes makes it very difficult to assign isolated teeth to a particular dinosaur species. The teeth further back in the jaw frequently were more blade like to aid in cutting and slicing of meat. The front teeth (premaxilla teeth) were typically much more conical in shape and closely packed making them ideal for gripping and pulling. The big exception to this is most meat-eating dinosaurs, who’s teeth sometimes varied significantly in size and shape as one moves back in the jaw. Right: Heavily worn "shed tooth"īecause of the specificity of dinosaur diets many species typically have only a single type of tooth in their jaws with variations only in size. Triceratops teeth showing varying degrees of wear.
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