Tyrannosaurus rex tooth
From a collection from the 1990's which recently came back into our possession, we offer this very nice example of a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen, with a pristine tip, nearly perfect serrations and a nice deep root cavity. The enamel, on one side looks to have had some repair with a slight amount of fill on a transverse crack on that side. However, due to the interesting intermixed swirling black and brown coloration on that side, to the naked eye the repair seems to blend in, giving the specimen an interesting look. The display side's enamel is excellent and has a different per-mineralization color, being a more of a chocolate brown with minimal disruption all the way up to just before the root cavity. There is a slight crack that travels around the specimen, about ½ an inch from the tip. It looks as the tip was not put back on. If so, it was done extremely well. Upon magnification, there are of course the normal enamel lines associated with postmortem events, most likely not hydration lines.
On a scale of 1-10, we would give this specimen a grade of ~ 7.8
This would be a highlight piece to one's collection.
Tyrannosaurus material has been going up in value astronomically over the last few years and it looks to continue appreciating. However, we believe the market to be overpriced and can afford to sell this specimen for a price that is much more reasonable than most others would consider doing so.
Measurements: ~ 2-5/8" long (on curve) x 1-1/16" wide x 3/4" thick
Location: Hell Creek Formation, Garfield County Montana, USA
Time period: Cretaceous / ~ 90 myo
Of all Dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus-rex, meaning "Tyrant Lizard King", has unquestionably captured modern culture's title as being the most popular carnivorous theropod dinosaur that ever existed. Nicknamed "T-rex", Tyrannosaurus-rex, although not the largest carnivore ever, was the largest "tyrannosaurid" that existed by far, measuring up to 40 feet (~12 meters) long, 20 feet (~6 meters tall) and weighing up to 6.8 metric tons.
Tyrannosaurus' skull had pneumatized (honeycombs with tiny air pockets) bones in its 5' long skull, thereby making it lighter in weight. That unique structure allowed the creature to wield its massive jaws down like an ax, breaking bones and sinking its long cone shaped teeth into its victims. At 10x the force of an alligator, Tyrannosaurus-rex had the strongest bite force of any land animal that has ever lived and it's estimated to have been able to grab up to 500 lb. of flesh in one single bite from its prey.
This hunter / scavenger was literally a walking tripod, using its powerful tail to counter balance its enormous body, which tilted forward on an approximate 45 degree angle. A debate continues as to what Tyrannosaurus’ maximum speed was, as some paleontologists feel the animal didn't run, but walked fast enough to catch its prey. However, most suggest it could move up to 25 mph. Others suggest the beast sometimes caused itself severe injury or even death if it fell in full stride due do its massive size.