.4" Partial Nodosaur Tooth - Judith River Formation

Partial Nodosaur Tooth - Judith River Formation #173479

This is a partial, .4" long tooth from a Nodosaur. It was collected from the Judith River Formation in Montana. While Nodosaur teeth are relatively abundant in the formation, not enough skeletal material has been recovered to describe the species.

One half of this tooth broke away and wasn't recoverable, hence the reduced price. Comes in an acrylic display case.

Nodosaurs are a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs that lived from the Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous periods. They were medium-large sized, quadrupedal herbivores that were heavily armored, adorned with rows of bony armor nodules and spines. Unlike ankylosaurs, nodosaurids lacked mace-like tail clubs. Nodosaurs possessed small, leaf-shaped teeth which when heavily worn/weathered can be impossible to distinguish from ankylosaur teeth. A characteristics of nodosaur teeth are a "shelf" visible below a pocket in the crown and no center ridge.

An artists interpretation of the a nodosaur (Edmontonia rugosidens). By Mariana Ruiz (Public Domain)

The Judith River Formation is one of the most prolific sources of Late Cretaceous vertebrate fossils. At least sixteen Orders containing more than forty Genera are known from the formation. These include fish, amphibians, mammals, and insects in addition to the reptiles, avian and non-avian dinosaurs (birds). Among the more interesting specimens is Leonardo, a mummified and fossilized Brachylophosaurus. This is a Hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur with amazing preservation of the soft tissues of the body. The pattern in the skin of the feet is even preserved. In addition to Leonardo, the Judith River Formation contains the remains of the theropod Hesperornis, the only known freshwater Hespernorthid, a penguin like bird.

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