Dinosaurs had spines, so...

[Cooper]

Here is a theropod tooth I found (among others) at a special spot near Drumheller, Alberta.

 

[ratluvr76]

Here is a theropod tooth I found (among others) at a special spot near Drumheller, Alberta. View attachment 137182

Oh man, this makes me homesick lol.

Cool find.

 

[pyro fiend]

jealous.. always thought itd be cool to find one.. or even a nice chunk of amber with something in it... alas in missouri [at least in kc area] we dont exactly have a surplus of Jurassic artifacts

 

[pitbulllady]

Nice find! Great serrations on the leading edge of that tooth, too! I'd love to find dinosaur fossils, but they're fairly scarce in SC, and most finds have been by accident.

pitbulllady

 

[The Snark]

Nice find! Great serrations on the leading edge of that tooth, too! I'd love to find dinosaur fossils, but they're fairly scarce in SC, and most finds have been by accident.

pitbulllady

Okay, you aren't shoving that pic under my nose without explaining the purpose of those serrations.

 

[Najakeeper]

I haven't found this but purchased it a while ago:

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus tooth.

 

[Elvia]

I haven't found this but purchased it a while ago:

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus tooth.

Oh my god! That is so awesome! I want one lol

 

[Blue Jaye]

Wow cool find ! The best I have are some tiger teeth , still cool lol

 

[Elvia]

Better than what I have Blue Jaye lol which is nothing sadly. I would love to have a Megalodon tooth though!

 

[Cooper]

I found lots with an old map to a bone bed and 35 minutes of poking around. Going back on the 18th.

 

[pitbulllady]

Okay, you aren't shoving that pic under my nose without explaining the purpose of those serrations.

Think "STEAK KNIFE", Snark. Makes it easier to slice through flesh. Now imagine a mouthful of those babies. Based on the size of the tooth, which is actually rather small as carnivorous dino teeth go, and its flat lateral appearance as opposed to being more conical, as well as the abundance of mid-late Cretaceous fossils in Alberta, it
probably is a Dromeaosaurid tooth. Dromeaosaurs were the group of small(relatively speaking) carnivores that are now generally referred to as "raptors".

pitbulllady

 

[The Snark]

Think "STEAK KNIFE", Snark. Makes it easier to slice through flesh. Now imagine a mouthful of those babies. Based on the size of the tooth, which is actually rather small as carnivorous dino teeth go, and its flat lateral appearance as opposed to being more conical, as well as the abundance of mid-late Cretaceous fossils in Alberta, it
probably is a Dromeaosaurid tooth. Dromeaosaurs were the group of small(relatively speaking) carnivores that are now generally referred to as "raptors".

pitbulllady

A beautiful example of divergent evolution. The shark produces more and more teeth which are disposable so to speak while these 'land sharks' evolved steak knives. Those serrations didn't just happen overnight so there was prey and circumstances that stayed much the same for an extended period of time that required the development of more efficient cutting ability. I'm guessing extreme competition for kills.
I wonder why the sharks opted for the multiple rows of 'scalpels' over the serrated knives commonly found in other species today.

 

[Biollantefan54]

"What do you get when you put a land shark with a land shark?! Jesus!"
I wonder if any one will know where that is from ^

 

[Liverwort]

A beautiful example of divergent evolution. The shark produces more and more teeth which are disposable so to speak while these 'land sharks' evolved steak knives. Those serrations didn't just happen overnight so there was prey and circumstances that stayed much the same for an extended period of time that required the development of more efficient cutting ability. I'm guessing extreme competition for kills.
I wonder why the sharks opted for the multiple rows of 'scalpels' over the serrated knives commonly found in other species today.

Considering how distantly related sharks and theropods are, it's more convergent than divergent Anyways, I think I can answer why sharks evolved to have tons of teeth while terrestrial animals with serrated teeth don't require all of that.

Sharks live in an environment where they can move freely in three dimensions, unlike terrestrial animals. So, to fully utilize the postcranial forces they can emit, sharks need many, replaceable teeth because while violent thrashing is extremely effective for all predators, although even more effective in aquatic predators( because they can shake in 3 dimensions), it can easily cause lots of damage to the dentition because it's very reckless. Terrestrial predators with xiphodont teeth (Laterally compressed, homogenous teeth) and serrations simply don't need extra teeth at the ready because their thrashing is much more conserved and repressed by gravity, since they need to support themselves independently from the atmosphere, unlike aquatic animals who can utilize their full body for thrashing.

Also, I think this tooth is probably not from a dromaeosaur. It's too large. I'm guessing that it's an Albertosaurus tooth! It definitely looks to be a tyrannosaurid tooth at the least.

 

[The Snark]

My example of the shark was a bad idea. Just introduced confusion.
I'm still not understanding the purpose of serration in that tooth. The predators, carnivorous hunters, all had round, conical teeth as the crocs of today.

 

[Liverwort]

My example of the shark was a bad idea. Just introduced confusion.
I'm still not understanding the purpose of serration in that tooth. The predators, carnivorous hunters, all had round, conical teeth as the crocs of today.

Well, - I think- I can help explain. Modern predators that have conical teeth are either possessing canines as their only conical teeth or are mainly piscivores. For some reason xiphodont teeth aren't very common anymore, probably because a mammalian tooth set is more effective at food processing and digestion and also because most animals with xiphodont teeth became extinct in the K/T extinction. However, there is a family of macropredators animals today that possess xiphodont teeth; Varanus

 

[The Snark]

Well, - I think- I can help explain. Modern predators that have conical teeth are either possessing canines as their only conical teeth or are mainly piscivores. For some reason xiphodont teeth aren't very common anymore, probably because a mammalian tooth set is more effective at food processing and digestion and also because most animals with xiphodont teeth became extinct in the K/T extinction. However, there is a family of macropredators animals today that possess xiphodont teeth; Varanus

All Crocodylinae have all round teeth. So when you refer to modern predators you are referring to what?? Or am I touching on the fact behind the term crocs are living fossils and that doesn't apply to present evolution esp. mammals?

Interesting to note the anomaly 'Catodile', Pakasuchus kapilimai, that had the modern mammalian tooth set.

 

[Liverwort]

Wait, now I'm a little confused Did you mean in your last post that most mesozoic theropods had conical teeth, or that extant predators have conical teeth mainly? Sorry, I'm pretty sure I misunderstood your last post.

Still, I want to keep the conversation going because this is pretty fun.

 

[Cooper]

I've been told the this is likely Gorgosaurus or Daspletosaurus, making it a tyrannosauridae tooth and I found a bunch of them

 

[Cooper]

The rains revealed some interesting fossils indeed