Histology of spinosaurid dinosaur teeth from the Albian-Cenomanian of Morocco: Implications for tooth replacement and ecology

Heckeberg, Nicola S. and Rauhut, Oliver W. M. (2020): Histology of spinosaurid dinosaur teeth from the Albian-Cenomanian of Morocco: Implications for tooth replacement and ecology. In: Palaeontologia Electronica, Vol. 23, No. 3, a48

Abstract

High numbers of spinosaurid teeth found in Morocco suggest that this Glade was very abundant during the "Mid-"Cretaceous in northern Africa. Several reasons have been proposed to account for this abundance of spinosaur teeth, from sampling biases to ecology. However, the number of teeth in the fossil record also depends strongly on the tooth replacement rate. So far, little is known about the tooth formation time and replacement rates in spinosaurids. Here, we analysed the histology of several spinosaur teeth to estimate tooth formation time and replacement rates, using the count of lines of von Ebner, the daily formed incremental lines in the dentine of the teeth. Line counts indicated a maximum tooth formation time of 271 days, and replacement rates were predicted to be between 59 and 68 days. These rates are faster than in other large theropods for which data are known, and, together with the rather high number of teeth in a spinosaurid dentition, might thus help to explain the abundance of spinosaur teeth in the "Mid-"Cretaceous of northern Africa.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Geosciences > Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Subjects: 500 Science > 550 Earth sciences and geology
• ISSN: 1935-3952
• Language: English