"tooth plates"

["Jordan Mallon" <j_mallon@hotmail.com>]

G'day folks,

I recently landed a volunteer position in the collections of the Canadian 
Museum of Nature, and one of the tasks I was assigned involved looking 
through the collections for material from the Edmonton Group.  One of the 
pieces I happened upon while browsing was a set of maxillary bones from 
_Daspletosaurus torosus_.  While I was having a look at these bones, Dr. 
Holmes, who was there with me at the time, commented on these sort of 
"plates" that lined the inside edge of the maxilla, between the teeth.  
Since he didn't quite have an answer from them (theropods aren't his 
specialty), I was just wondering if anyone here knew what these "tooth 
plates" were used for, or how they funtioned.  I've got pictures of the 
structures, if need be.
Thanks,

Jordan Mallon

http://www.geocities.com/paleoportfolio/

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