.77" Small Theropod Tooth (Raptor) - South Dakota

Small Theropod Tooth (Raptor) - South Dakota #115748

This is a .77" long theropod tooth from the Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota. It is in very good condition with slight wear at the apical (tip). Comes in an acrylic display case.

Often these smaller raptor teeth from the Hell Creek Formation get labeled Dromaeosaur (Raptor) based on their size. The Dromaeosaurid, Acheroraptor (a North American cousin of the famous Velociraptor) has become somewhat of a catch all genus for the small theropod teeth from the Hell Creek Formation but this is designation comes with a good deal of controversy. There is so much debate as to the exact classifications of the small theropod dinosaurs in the Hell Creek Formation, and the teeth are so similar, I feel trying to put a species on them is almost guesswork.

Because of its age and sedimentary composition, the Hell Creek Formation has become one of the most paleontologically studied areas in the world. 158 genera of animals and 64 genera of plants are known from the formation and new discoveries are made frequently. In addition to Tyrannosaurs, Ceratopsids, and Hadrosaurs, the formation has yielded remains of amphibians, reptiles, lizards, snakes and turtles, fish and sharks, avian and non-avian dinosaurs, and mammals. The Hell Creek Formation gives the most complete understanding of the environment just before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.

What Is A Raptor (Dinosaur)?