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Poison thero-teeth? (was RE: JP3 Thoughts (frilled Dilophosaurus revisited))
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Mickey Mortimer
>
> > Wasn't this the tooth mentioned onlist a while ago that was dubious at
> > best? That's what I thought, at least.
>
> There's no reason the theropod identification would be dubious. It's
> typically theropod (laterally compressed, recurved, serrated on both
> carinae) and moreover, has anterior serrations much smaller than posterior
> serrations. This is only known in some eumaniraptorans (Achillobator,
> Deinonychus, Velociraptor, Saurornitholestes, Bambiraptor,
> Sinornithosaurus)
> and Eotyrannus.
Ummm... Actually, there are other taxa that seem to be basal to
eumaniraptorans (such as the Zuni critter) in which this condition is also
present. Additionally, many Jurassic and Triassic theropod taxa have not
been examined in detail to see if this condition is present or not.
I would agree that the tooth is theropod, but I would be cautious beyond
that. I will admit that the tooth is VERY weird: it does not merely have a
groove, it has an anti-carina. That is, where there should be a posterior
carina with serrations, there is a posterior groove with negative-relief
anti-serration pits.
Given that some theropods (tyrannosaurids jump to mind) can have some really
weird developmental errors in serration or carinal morphology, I would be
very much more secure in accepting that this is a non-pathological condition
if someone found more of them.
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland College Park Scholars
College Park, MD 20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone: 301-405-4084 Email: tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol): 301-314-9661 Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796