Comments on: What Big Teeth You Have: Was the Heterodontosaurus an Herbivore or a Carnivore or an Omnivore? http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2008/11/03/what-big-teeth-you-have-the-heterodontosaurus-canines/ Where Paleontology Meets Pop Culture Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:06:42 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Brian http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2008/11/03/what-big-teeth-you-have-the-heterodontosaurus-canines/comment-page-1/#comment-172 Brian Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:17:16 +0000 http://dinosaur.smithsonianmag.com/?p=223#comment-172 Hugh; Dinosaurs, like living reptiles, continuously replaced their teeth throughout their lives. There were always teeth growing in place behind those sticking out of the jaw. They didn't have "baby" or "milk teeth" (deciduous teeth) that were replaced by a set of permanent ones. The idea that this was an early-erupting adult tooth is interesting, but because dinosaurs continuously lost and replaced teeth, it isn't likely. In us, for example, there are marked differences in adult and deciduous teeth. There probably would not have been this kind of sharp contrast in Heterodontosaurus, and if there were changes in the teeth as the animal aged (which is likely) it would have been more gradual. This is provisional, of course, and more fossils could definitely help clarify when these dinosaurs got their big "canines." Hugh; Dinosaurs, like living reptiles, continuously replaced their teeth throughout their lives. There were always teeth growing in place behind those sticking out of the jaw. They didn’t have “baby” or “milk teeth” (deciduous teeth) that were replaced by a set of permanent ones.

The idea that this was an early-erupting adult tooth is interesting, but because dinosaurs continuously lost and replaced teeth, it isn’t likely. In us, for example, there are marked differences in adult and deciduous teeth. There probably would not have been this kind of sharp contrast in Heterodontosaurus, and if there were changes in the teeth as the animal aged (which is likely) it would have been more gradual. This is provisional, of course, and more fossils could definitely help clarify when these dinosaurs got their big “canines.”

]]> By: Hugh http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2008/11/03/what-big-teeth-you-have-the-heterodontosaurus-canines/comment-page-1/#comment-171 Hugh Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:22:55 +0000 http://dinosaur.smithsonianmag.com/?p=223#comment-171 Interesting - but can you tell us whether reptiles and/or dinosaurs had "baby teeth"? Did they replace their teeth continuously through their lives or perhaps keep a single set of teeth the whole time? If either the second or third were true, seems like the young could have been stuck with adult-like teeth. Thanks for the info... Interesting – but can you tell us whether reptiles and/or dinosaurs had “baby teeth”? Did they replace their teeth continuously through their lives or perhaps keep a single set of teeth the whole time? If either the second or third were true, seems like the young could have been stuck with adult-like teeth. Thanks for the info…

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