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INTACT & FINEST GRADE TYRANNOSAURUS REX TOOTH WITH NO REPAIR OR RESTORATION

Hell Creek Formation - South Dakota, U.S.A.

LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD:  68 - 65 million years ago

Most TYRANNOSAURUS TEETH are usually quite ugly despite their steep prices reflecting their rarity and market demand.  No type of dinosaur commands more respect and fascination than the members of the tyrannosaur family and a T. rex tooth or fossil seems to be at the top of every dinosaur fancier's list.  Without question, fine quality teeth and bones of these dinosaurs will steadily appreciate year after year as limited legal collecting regions in the United States continue to be scavenged and produce less and less fine quality specimens.  

This will probably be one of the few attractive and choice grade T. rex teeth you will ever see offered that has NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION.  Don't be put off by the size of this tooth.  This intact tooth came from a full-grown, adult Tyrannosaurus rex and is a fully erupted tooth.  Teeth varied in size in the jaw of this dinosaur and the second to last image at the bottom of this page shows the dentition of a fully grown T. rex and the varying teeth crown sizes, for comparison.  This is the NUMBER ONE dinosaur to have a tooth from and even the most hideous and plastic-filled teeth fetch strong prices.  While we have collected T. rex specimens in the past, and constantly get requests for teeth, it is a seldom occurrence in the life of a fossil hunter to discover a complete Tyrannosaurus rex tooth that is complete and fully intact and is of a very high grade as this example is. 

A COMPLETE UNBROKEN specimen such as this, is  SUPER RARE! 

Which makes this fossil tooth being offered here an extraordinary find.  It is important to highlight that where others have sold teeth as complete and they were only the tips, this is THE COMPLETE TOOTH evidenced by the nature of the diminishing serrations on the trailing edge and anatomy of the tooth on the base.  The tooth was amazingly found 100% intact as seen above.  The tip is complete and sharp with only very slight evidence natural feeding wear which means this tooth saw some action!  Remarkably, it was never broken and survived as it was found in the condition you see it in the above photos.  The serrations are exquisite and run all the way up both edges.  The enamel is rich black-brown with fine grain super natural luster with NO enamel peel and NO missing portions of enamel.  Where many large T. rex teeth are composites of several unrelated teeth pieced together to make a seemingly nice, large fossil tooth, this PRIZE FIND is all original The tooth looks even better in person!!!  VERY Highly recommended and one of the most surefire investment fossils you could ever own!  Most T. rex teeth are HEAVILY reconstructed and in most cases, more plastic than tooth is present!  A good paint job can hide wonders so know what you are getting!!!

WARNING:  The staff of Paleo Direct is fully experienced and regularly performs all phases of fossil repair and restoration on their premises where needed.  This work is always disclosed on our website voluntarily, and can be found in the text of the fossils we offer.  Caveat emptor when it comes to dealers that buy already prepared specimens because there is a great tendency to stretch the truth when it comes to completeness and authenticity as the financial rewards ARE VERY HIGH on fossils from this dinosaur, ESPECIALLY!  This is a very important issue in the fossil business as almost all fossils have some repair and/or restoration.  Purchasing specimens FROM THE ACTUAL PERSON OR PERSONS DOING THE PREPARATION WORK is VITAL for you the buyer, to know what you are getting.  Buying rare fossils from a seller that just goes to a show or broker, buying from someone else who simply echoes what they were told is the best way to get a mystery fossil with no recourse to determine as to what kind of work has been done.  This kind of rampant misrepresentation in the fossil market is one of the key arguments the science community uses to discourage buying fossils in the first place!  To be sure that what you are buying is accurately and honestly represented, only deal with a highly experienced professional who is actively engaged in, as well as has first-hand knowledge AND experience with regard to fossil preparation, repair and restoration.  Equally important is a complete understanding of the anatomy of the specimen and animal at hand. 

The name TYRANNOSAURUS REX is synonymous with sheer terror.  Just mention the name and almost anyone, regardless of how much or little they know about paleontology, will recognize the "Tyrant Lizard King".  Long thought to be the largest meat-eating dinosaur that ever lived, it has been recently discovered that Carcharodontosaurus (Giganotosaurus) was actually larger but not as robust as T. rex.  Clearly, the massive proportions and musculature of Tyrannosaurus rex were meant for one thing, taking down anything that challenged it or got in its way!

TYRANNOSAURUS REX grew to up 46 feet long, 20 feet high at the hips and weighed 5 to 7 tons.  Despite some claims as to this beast being a clumsy scavenger, the undeniable facts about T. rex's anatomy indicate quite the opposite.  This enormous killer was built to HUNT.  It had amazing senses for smelling (based on braincase studies and enlarged lobes for this sense) but more importantly, Tyrannosaurus rex was HIGHLY DEVELOPED for seeing - something you do not need when all you "chase" after is a non-moving, dead animal.  The massive five foot skull had 4 inch diameter eye sockets that would have held a 3 inch diameter eyeball.  T. rex possessed large lobes in its brain for vision that processed complex sight information.  T. rex also had a unique head compared to most predatory dinosaurs with both eyes facing forward on the front of its skull.  This allowed ideal depth perception - best needed for stalking and hunting LIVE, running prey.  While other predatory dinosaurs possessed depth perception, it would not have been as developed as T. rex because of this feature.  Plant-eating dinosaurs have their eyes located on the sides of their heads which allows them to WATCH FOR PREDATORS from all directions, something T. rex never needed since it was THE king of predators and had NO equal in its region.

The jaws of a Tyrannosaurus rex were up to 4 feet long.  Each dinosaur possessed approximately 50 to 60 robust, conical teeth that ranged in size from an inch to over 9 inches long.  These teeth were rounder in cross-section than most other predatory dinosaurs' teeth which enabled T. rex's teeth to better stand up to crushing bone.  Conical teeth can also best sustain the impact force of hitting the body of its prey when attacking and holding struggling prey prior to the kill.  Like many predatory dinosaurs, an adult T. rex had a range of lengths of teeth in its jaws at any time.  Teeth were constantly emerging and replacing damaged or worn ones. 

Clearly, the sheer robustness of Tyrannosaurus rex required enormous amounts of protein to sustain such body mass.  True scavengers tend to be lean with wiry, lighter bodies able to function better between the discovery of carcasses in the wild.  Active predators will usually scavenge a carcass as a 'target of opportunity' which T. rex most probably did, but the mighty design of T. rex would have been both - 1) unnecessary up against prey that is not alive to fight back and, 2) of a body mass difficult to sustain over the lifetime of the beast on the availability of carrion, alone.

Fossil remains of T. rex represent the pinnacle of dinosaur fossil collections and exhibits the world over.  Their universal appeal and rarity compared to ever-increasing market demand put fine quality Tyrannosaurus rex fossils at the forefront of highly promising INVESTMENT FOSSILS.  Be aware of dealers offering fragmented bones and teeth as being from T. rex.  Ignorance and deception persists in the fossil trade as the financial rewards are great for wrongly classifying a fossil as from T. rex.  Deal ONLY with reputable and knowledgeable suppliers who will provide a certificate and lifetime guarantee of positive identification. 

AMAZINGLY RARE CONDITION WITH PERFECT SERRATIONS- MOST PROMISING INVESTMENT OF ANY FOSSIL, PERIOD!

2.25" long on the leading edge

$5495     DT18-023     INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX     Actual Item - One Only

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HELL CREEK FORMATION, U.S.A.

5495