About The Dinosaur Teeth: Some Unknown Details Dinosaur teeth are among the most plentiful fossil finds, and paleontologists have been able to learn a lot from them. in fact, the discovery of iguanodon teeth in 1822 is said to have been the catalyst of dinosaur study in the Western world. The size and shape of a dinosaur tooth make the scientists realize what type of animal they are looking at, which order of dinosaur the animal belonged to, and what the animal ate. Most people even like to know all this before they buy dinosaur teeth.
For example, many herbivores, or vegetation-eating animals, had triangular teeth that were designed for cutting or slicing plant life. Meat-eaters such as the tyrannosaurus had teeth that were long, curved, and sharp; one edge of their teeth was typically serrated like a modern steak knife in order to help the animal tear up meat.
Saurischians ■ ■ ■
They had a “lizard-hipped,” or downward-pointing, pelvic structure. In addition to being “lizard-hipped,” saurischian dinosaurs had grasping hands with asymmetrical fingers, which are used to identify them. Sauropods, which have long necks, and theropods, which can be identified by the movable joint centered in their lower jaw.
Sauropods ■ ■ ■
Up to 100 species of sauropods are known to have lived during the Upper Triassic and Late Cretaceous periods. These herbivores are the biggest animals that have ever walked on the earth. Some of the sauropods had flat spatula-shaped teeth, while others had teeth that were more peg-like.