Top 5 most interesting dinosaur teeth

For millions of years, dinosaurs ruled the earth. It’s estimated that there were up to 700 different species in the ancient world. This left room for a lot of different types of teeth!

Just like animals today, dinosaurs had teeth that were perfect for their specific needs, whether it was tearing open prey or grinding leaves. In honor of Dinosaur Day in June, Let’s find out more about the teeth of some of the most popular dinosaurs:

Tyrannosaurus rex teeth

Also known as the “T-Rex”, this dinosaur was a top predator roaming the earth during the Late Cretaceous Period. One of the reasons for this is due to their large bodies and sharp teeth. These carnivores had 60 serrated teeth that were roughly 8 inches long, so you can only imagine what they did to their prey!

Triceratops teeth

The Triceratops is one of the most visually iconic dinosaurs thanks to the three giant horns sticking out of its head. We think its teeth were even more fascinating. Triceratops had roughly 800 teeth, with new ones constantly growing throughout their life. Having that many teeth is hard to imagine, but a Triceratops’ teeth grew in “batteries of 36 to 40 tooth columns with each column having 3-5 teeth vertically stacked on one another.”

Pterodactyl teeth

A full-grown Pterodactyl likely had 90 teeth while younger ones had around 15. Most fossils that have been found show they typically had a mix of conical and narrow teeth. While scientists aren’t exactly sure what they ate, many believe they were carnivores that fed on small animals or possibly invertebrates.

Stegosaurus Teeth

The Stegosaurus is known for the dual rows of plates protruding from its back. The Stegosaurus is also believed to have been able to fend off predators with its strong, spiked tail. Their dinosaur teeth were “a series of rounded, minutely-ridged teeth arranged in straight rows from front to back,” and were only a centimeter big. Despite being roughly the size of a bus and weighing around 14,000 pounds, it had to feed on smaller and softer plants due to its weak jaws.

Brachiosaurus teeth

The Brachiosaurus was a giant and had a very long neck. Paleontologists believe the brachiosaurus had thick jaw bones and spoon-shaped teeth, up to 52 in fact, which allowed them to feed on vegetation like coniferous trees, even swallowing vegetation whole.

Megalodon teeth

The Megalodon was a massive fish that weighed as much as 30 large great white sharks. These giants grew to be 40 to 60 feet long and their teeth reflect how large these apex predators were. Megalodon teeth were sharp and about the size of a banana. Millions of years later, amazing fish teeth can still be found!