4.4" Tyrannosaur (Daspletosaurus?) Caudal Vertebra - Montana

This is a really cool, 4.4" wide Tyrannosaur (Daspletosaurus sp.?) vertebra from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. It was collected this last spring and has been nicely prepared from the hard rock surrounding it. There is a repaired crack through the process and another through the body of the vertebra which required some minor gap fill restoration. The most significant gap fill restoration is along bottom (anterior end) of the vertebra centrum. The rock it was found in has been left within the vertebral foramen to ensure structural integrity of the vertebral arch.

It sits beautifully on the included custom metal display stand.

Three species of tyrannosaur have been described from the Two Medicine & Judith River Formations: Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus and Daspletosaurus. Research done on teeth from these three tyrannosaurs has concluded that isolated teeth are statistically impossible to assign to a specific genus because they are so similar.

Morphometry of the teeth of western North American tyrannosaurids and its applicability to quantitative classification

The Two Medicine Formation is a geographical formation in Central Montana and Southern Alberta, Canada. The formation is predominantly sandstone laid down by rivers and deltas during the Campanian Age of the Cretaceous, about 80-75 million years ago. Approximately two thousand feet thick on the western edge, it lies on top of the Virgelle Sandstone formation and under the Bearpaw Shale. It is located between the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and the Sweetgrass Arch, a tectonic fold feature 40-90 miles east of the Front Range.

The Two Medicine is the same age as the Judith River Formation found further east. It was laid down further inland from the Western Interior Seaway, while the Judith River Formation was deposited along the coast. The Two Medicine contains much of the same dinosaur fauna, but fewer reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic fossils.

A view of the Two Medicine Formation quarry operated by Northwest Montana Fossils, where much of our Two Medicine dinosaur material has been found.
A view of the Two Medicine Formation quarry operated by Northwest Montana Fossils, where much of our Two Medicine dinosaur material has been found.

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Daspletosaurus sp.?
LOCATION
Pondera County, Montana
FORMATION
Two Medicine Formation
SIZE
4.4 x 2.9", 4" tall on stand
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#145167
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