1.27" Tyrannosaur Tooth - Feeding Damaged Tip

This is a 1.27" long Tyrannosaur tooth from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. It's missing the tip and would have been about 1 3/4" long if complete. Otherwise the preservation on this partial tooth is exceptional. It has great enamel and fine serrations.

It appears as though the missing tip is feeding damage as opposed to something that happened after the dinosaur lost the tooth. The edges around the break are polished while the rest of the tooth is in pristine shape. Talk about a tooth ache.

There is a hot debate among paleontologists about whether Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus rex (T-Rex) are really the same species, with Nanotyrannus representing juveniles. Recent finds that are soon to be published should put this debate to rest, definitively proving that Nanotyrannus is in fact a separate genus and valid genus. Nano teeth tend to be much more finely serrated, and much thinner/blade like t-rex teeth, in addition to being smaller.