A remarkable fossil at Montana State University's Museum of the Rockies is offering scientists an unusually detailed glimpse into how Tyrannosaurus may have attacked its prey. The specimen, which contains a tyrannosaur tooth still embedded in another dinosaur's skull, is the focus of a new study by researchers from Montana State University and the University of Alberta in Canada.
Around 66 million years ago, near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus ruled what is now Montana. The massive predator shared its environment with other giants, including the horned Triceratops and the duck billed herbivore Edmontosaurus.
Embedded Tyrannosaurus Tooth Tells an Ancient Story
In 2005, researchers uncovered a nearly complete Edmontosaurus skull in the Hell Creek Formation of eastern Montana on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The fossil is now part of the Museum of the Rockies' paleontology collection, where one extraordinary feature immediately stands out: a broken tyrannosaur tooth remains lodged in the animal's face.
The skull is currently displayed in the museum's Hall of Horns and Teeth and became the centerpiece of a collaborative investigation led by University of Alberta doctoral student Taia Wyenberg-Henzler and Museum of the Rockies Curator of Paleontology John Scannella. Their findings were published in the scientific journal PeerJ.
