Fluvial transport potential of shed and root-bearing dinosaur teeth from the late Jurassic Morrison Formation.

ABSTRACT: Shed dinosaur teeth are commonly collected microvertebrate remains that have been used for interpretations of dinosaur feeding behaviors, paleoecology, and population studies. However, such interpretations may be biased by taphonomic processes such as fluvial sorting influenced by tooth shape: shed teeth, removed from the skull during life, and teeth possessing roots, removed from the skull after death. As such, teeth may behave differently in fluvial systems due to their differences in shape. In order to determine the influence of fluvial processes on the preservation and distribution of shed and root-bearing dinosaur teeth, the hydrodynamic behaviors of high-density urethane resin casts of shed and root-bearing Allosaurus and Camarasaurus teeth were experimentally tested for relative tra

SUBMITTER: Peterson JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3994629 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature