DT19-034 - BABY LEPTOCERATOPS DINOSAUR TOOTH WITH CROWN AND ROOT

Product Description

ITEM # 

DT19-034

ID

Leptoceratops sp.

FOUND

Lance Formation - Lance Creek, Wyoming, U.S.A.

AGE

LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD:  68 - 65 million years ago

SIZE

.4" long

CONDITION

NO REPAIR OR RESTORATION

NOTE

VERY RARE FROM A VERY YOUNG DINOSAUR

INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX - Actual Item - One Only

Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HORNED DINOSAURS

Collected in the famous Lance Formation  of Northwestern U.S.A., this is a SUPER RARE top grade fossil dinosaur tooth from the primitive ceratopsian dinosaur Leptoceratops sp..  It is rare for two reasons - fossils of this certops dinosaur are highly uncommon and this tooth is with crown and root in superb condition.  Unlike most teeth usually found which are "spit teeth" or ones that were ejected from the dinosaur's mouth when alive, this specimen was still in the Leptoceratops' jaw when it died.  This is evidenced by the intact crown and partial root still present.  

As the smallest tooth we have ever seen, this would have likely come from an extremely young dinosaur.  The crown and complete root are intact and unbroken which means this tooth is not a common shed tooth but was in the dinosaur's jaw when the animal died.  This is a superb educational specimen because fossils of Leptoceratops represent a very primitive example of a member of the horned dinosaurs compared to its giant cousins like Triceratops or Torosaurus.  Very rarely offered or found.  NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION. 

The name Leptoceratops means "lean horned-face" indicating its diminutive size in the family of ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs.  Leptoceratops was small in comparison to many other horned dinosaurs and only reached a length of about 6.5 feet, weighing from 150 to over 400 pounds in estimation.  It had claws as opposed to hooves like other ceratopsians and it had teeth in its upper jaw unlike more developed ceratopsians that only had their toothless beak.  The unusually deep tail was a result of long, graceful spinous processes on the vertebrae, also differing from its larger horned cousins.  It is believed this allowed the dinosaur to have a very flexible tail.