Anomotodon Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Bought this specimen as a crocodile jaw section a while ago, it is from Turonian of Bissekty formation, Uzbekistan. Teeth were definitely conical, which fits only two groups in that area - sauropods and crocodiles, but recently after looking at some skulls I noticed that it really doesn't fit crocodile skulls - both Alligatorid and Pholidosaurid. What it seems to fit, is a titanosaur sauropod maxilla (Tapuiasaurus macedoi skull on the pictures below). Please confirm if I am imagining things here or (hopefully) not @LordTrilobite @Troodon And an Alligator skull for comparison 1 The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Any part of sauropod skull would be very rare indeed. But I agree that this does not seem to fit croc. But it's hard to tell what it does fit since it's a fairly small fragment. Is that one small tooth I see that's intact? And is there a suture visible anywhere? Any additional diagnostic features might help a lot in determining what this might be. Perhaps you could post some more photos? 2 Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomotodon Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 No sutures and no intact teeth, unfortunately Forgot to mention each square on the paper is 5 mm, total length is about 8 cm. The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomotodon Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomotodon Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyBoy Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 The sauropod teeth Ive seen in a paper from the Bissekty Formation appear to be uniform in diameter and not different sizes like the ones in your jaw which is more typical of Croc. Sauropod peg teeth are fairly consistent in a jaw with replacement teeth. In looking at Wikipedia there are a number of Crocodylomorphs reported from the Bissekty Fm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomotodon Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 There were also ichthyodectid fish like Aidachar with conical teeth, but the structure and shape are not very fishy Xiphactinus maxilla for comparison The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, TyBoy said: The sauropod teeth Ive seen in a paper from the Bissekty Formation appear to be uniform in diameter and not different sizes like the ones in your jaw which is more typical of Croc. Sauropod peg teeth are fairly consistent in a jaw with replacement teeth. In looking at Wikipedia there are a number of Crocodylomorphs reported from the Bissekty Fm. That's a very good point. The teeth size difference does point away from Sauropod. Though the jaw structure itself does not seem very much like a croc. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomotodon Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 11 minutes ago, TyBoy said: The sauropod teeth Ive seen in a paper from the Bissekty Formation appear to be uniform in diameter and not different sizes like the ones in your jaw which is more typical of Croc. Sauropod peg teeth are fairly consistent in a jaw with replacement teeth. In looking at Wikipedia there are a number of Crocodylomorphs reported from the Bissekty Fm. In Averianov's paper all teeth described were not associated, they didn't find any jaw sections. Here are some upper jaw teeth from that paper. Otherwise, you are right, haven't really seen sauropod skulls with different diameter teeth. Maybe it could be a juvenile feature? If this maxilla is indeed a sauropod it is definitely from a young individual. As for the crocodylians - I can't find any matches, this maxilla is too tall for all species known from this area - goniopholids, alligatorids and pholidosaurids (haven't seen any formal descriptions, but I have a pholidosaurid tooth from there that came as a gift with this jaw). This maxilla also lacks those small sensory holes typical of crocs. Here is a Tapuiasaurus maxilla 1 The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Very interesting specimen. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SULLY Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 It’s a very cool piece. Just too bad it’s not a little bit bigger for identification. Regardless, great acquisition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zekky Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 I'd recommend you get that x-rayed, see if there are any un-erupted teeth for ID. Most dentist offices will do it, they'll even enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomotodon Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 On 12/26/2018 at 10:55 PM, zekky said: I'd recommend you get that x-rayed, see if there are any un-erupted teeth for ID. Most dentist offices will do it, they'll even enjoy it. Thanks, that's a great idea! Will try to do that The Tooth Fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCMOfossil Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolleamm Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Aren’t dinosaur jaw fossils comprised of two pieces usually? This looks like one solid piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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