Serrated Troodontid Dinosaur Tooth

Description: This is a fine shed tooth of a troodontid dinosaur, most likely Pectinodon. The genus Troodon derives its name from the distinctive apically serrated teeth. While some ascribe a carnivorous habit to these 2.5 meter long bipedal dinosaurs, some researchers think that they may have actually been omnivorous. Troodon was one of the first dinosaurs discovered in North America. Its large eyes are indicative of nocturnal behavior, while its high encephalization quotient shows it had a brain/body ratio similar to that of modern birds. Nests of this dinosaur were discovered in 1983 in the Two Medicine Formation by Jack Horner of the Museum of the Rockies. The fact that eggs were laid in pairs indicated that they had two functional ovaries like crocodiles and unlike the single ovary of modern birds.