Nanotyrannus lancensis Dinosaur Tooth

Description: This tooth comes from the tyrannosaurid dinosaur Nanotyrannus lancensis. The debate still rages as to whether this is a juvenile Tryraansaurus or an entirely different species. In 2005 a symposium was held at the Burpee Museum in Rockford, Illinois covering tyrannosaurids. The Burpee is the home of the specimen known as “Jane”, thought to be only the second Nanotyrannus known to science. I was fortunate to attend that conference, and listened to both sides of the argument. The photo of Jane shown here was taken by me. I am still waiting for the definitive study of “Jane”, and so will reserve judgment at this time. The specimen offered here is still entombed in matrix. A portion of the matrix backing was removed during collection, allowing you to see the imprints of the tooth. While the debate still rages as to whether Nanotyrannus is a juvenile Tyrannosaurus or a separate genus, there can be no debate as to the fact that this is an excellent example of a tooth from this enigmatic dinosaur.