FossilSniper Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 (edited) This is my 8.9 cm. (3.5 in.) Spinosaurus tooth, which actually is in surprisingly great shape! (apart from cracks caused by clumsy past owners) However, it is curved (~0.5cm in one direction, and ~0.4 cm off to the side of the previous curve). This leaves me to wonder- how did this happen? My theory is that this Spinosaur either had something HUGE stuck between its teeth that caused them to deform as it grew older; or that a sideways tooth interfered with the normal growth of this tooth, and caused it to grow sideways (to make room for the wayside tooth). The latter is actually very common in humans! (This is why many of us as teenagers had braces, as to prevent our teeth from growing in every direction). I also prefer the last argument (I know, I argue with my self, haha...) because there is a long 3 cm indentation along the side of the tooth, which is exactly where the tooth would have interfered with the room of another tooth. The indentation is likely the blade end of another tooth which was in place when the dinosaur was still alive. The mark is visible on the right side of the tooth in the last image. I just that this was a very unique specimen that I wanted to share with the world, especially because mine is in such good shape for a tooth with almost 6 cm of intact tip enamel, and another three centimeters of root. Does anyone else have some pathological (deformed) fossil teeth they would like to share? Sounds cool! -Fossil sniper Edited April 9, 2018 by Little_Hammer_Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 I'm not seeing the images. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilSniper Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 I was browsing through Troodon's photos of one of the Tuscon mineral shows, and he took a photo of this Spinosaurus tooth. The interesting thing is that it has a very similar indentation! I think my theory is correct! Thank you, Troodon, for taking this photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilSniper Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 (edited) 26 minutes ago, LordTrilobite said: I'm not seeing the images. I think it should work now... hmm..... @LordTrilobite (as you can see, I am very new to the Fossil forum, so forgive me for any novice mistakes) Edited April 9, 2018 by Little_Hammer_Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 I have a curved tooth, mines alot smaller though, you can see it here. Tooth People said it may be due to the fossilisation process. Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilSniper Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, LiamL said: I have a curved tooth, mines alot smaller though, you can see it here... Hmm... What I notice is that yours has four markings along the side of the tooth... ...mine has one... and both are deformed. Interesting, these marks may mean something! @LiamL Edited April 10, 2018 by Little_Hammer_Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Both these teeth could be a result of what they call taphonomic deformation or plastic deformation which is very common in bones but I've seen it in theropod teeth and occurs during fossilization. Not sure one will ever know. It could also be a result of a jaw abnormalities, disease and many other factors. The four markings on the side are normal ridges common to Spinosaurid teeth and absent on some. The indentation on the side of the teeth might just be a result of where the replacement tooth was located. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilSniper Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Troodon said: The indentation on the side of the teeth might just be a result of where the replacement tooth was located. I totally forgot there were replacement teeth! Yes, the indentation is almost definitely where a replacement tooth once was. Thank you for reviving my memory! I guess the cause will remain hidden after all..... Edited April 10, 2018 by Little_Hammer_Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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