Tyrannosaurus rex
Late Cretaceous - 65 to 68 Million Years Old
Hell Creek Formation, Harding County, South Dakota
Tyrannosaurus rex is the most famous land animal of all time. It grew up to 45 feet in length and up to 8 tons, or 16,000 pounds, in weight, making it the largest carnivorous dinosaur in prehistory. Its massive skull measured up to 5 feet in length, and its jaws were filled with huge, 5-inch, finely-serrated teeth - the largest, most massive teeth of any dinosaur. T. rex was an incredibly violent, "smash-mouth" killer and would run into its prey at full speed with its mouth agape. The resulting collision would cause immense damage to its prey because a huge chunk of flesh would have been gouged out at the impact point. The prey would then, nearly instantaneously, go into shock and collapse from massive blood loss. Because of this very violent attack style, T. rex teeth without damage are extremely rare; the tips of the teeth are usually rounded from wear and chipped along the serrate rows. They are also commonly found sheared-off at the root because they would regularly be snapped out of the skull by these monstrous impact forces. The present excellent tooth specimen displays the typically rounded and worn tip seen on T. rex teeth. In addition, this tooth exhibits a natural channel forming a small ring around the shiny rounded tip, caused by acidic tooth decay. This tooth is very wide relative to its height, indicating its origin from the rear of the left maxilla (upper), proving it to be a rare posterior tooth. The tooth is beautifully lustrous and exhibits a lovely chocolate brown color with tan banding, separated by dark lines and checking. Both serrate rows are nearly perfect, displaying the huge serrations for which T. rex is famous.
Measures 3in around the curve; 1 1/2in wide x 7/8in thick