Rare, .64" Serrated Fossil Theropod (Neovenator) Tooth - England

Rare, Serrated Fossil Theropod (Neovenator) Tooth - England #279429

This is an incredible tooth from the theropod dinosaur Neovenator cf. salerii. This carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur would have roamed Belgium, England, Spain, and Germany. It was collected from the Isle of Wight in England and is .64" long. The serrations along the distal edge are well defined, with some small spots of chipping. British dinosaur material is extremely hard to come by and this is a fantastic collector piece.

Comes with a riker display case.

Neovenator is a genus of carcharodontoasaurian theropod from the Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous, about 127 to 121 million years ago. It is one of Europe's best-known dinosaurs from that time.

N. salerii was first discovered on England's Isle of Wight in 1978, after a storm caused a collapse in a nearby formation, breaking the rock containing the fossil loose and sending it tumbling down to a beach. Within those rocks about 70 percent of a single theropod skeleton was discovered along with iguanodontian fossils. Though the iguanodontian generated more interest at first, later researchers realized they'd found a brand new theropod species, and named it Neovenator, greek for "new hunter". Its species name, salerii, came from the owners of the land the fossils were discovered on: the Salero family.

Neovenator was a lithe terrestrial predator, reaching lengths of about 7 meters (23 feet) and weights of about 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons). Feeding wear indicates that Neovenator often avoided eating or biting bone. Based on well-preserved neurovascular structures in its skull, the theropod possessed extremely sensitive facial sensory organs, though what exactly they were used for is unknown. Theories range from courtship to sensing changes in weather or atmospheric pressure, or even determining nesting conditions, as some modern birds do.