2.01" Rare Y-Serrated Tyrannosaurus Tooth (Judith River)

Size: 2.01"

Weight: 20g

Species: Tyrannosaurus

Age: late cretaceous- 75.3-79 MYA

Location Found: Judith River Formation

there is no restoration or repair.

In a 1995 study looking at Tyrannosaurid teeth from Hell Creek and other Campanian deposits only 11% of the lateral teeth exhibited this trait, 8% were T rex. These serrations were only seen on Tyrannosaurids and genetic conditions have the most support for there cause.

study can be found here :https://www.jstor.org/stable/4523630

From the paper

"Of the hypotheses which were considered as possible causes of the split carinae trait: trauma, aberrant replacement of teeth, and genetic polymorphism, the latter seems to find the most support. However, the data is certainly not conclusive and as noted above, there are other causes of tooth abnormalities that are currently un-testable on dinosaur taxa (e.g., nutritionally induced anomalies). Further testing of the genetic polymorphism hypothesis seems warranted"