Sensational dinosaur tooth discovery

17 July 2009

A fossilised dinosaur tooth discovered on the island of Bornholm has been declared a Danish national treasure (Danekræ) by the Natural History Museum of Denmark, which is under the jurisdiction of the University of Copenhagen. It is the third discovery of a dinosaur tooth on Bornholm, of which two have now been declared as national treasures. All dinosaur tooth fossils found so far in Denmark originate from the sand layer deposited in the Robbedale region of southern Bornholm during the early Cretaceous Period, about 140 million years ago.

Tooth from carnivorous dinosaur

The new tooth is 15 mm long and originates from a carnivorous dinosaur of either the same or very similar species, as that of the first dinosaur tooth found on Bornholm in 2000. The dinosaur has since been classified with the somewhat daunting Latin name Dromaeosauroides bornholmensis. Both teeth were likely positioned in the front of the mouth of the dinosaur, which is believed to have been about three metres long and belongs to the same family as the bloodthirsty 'raptors' depicted in the Jurassic Park films. This dinosaur group, the dromaeosaurs, are closely related to modern birds, and, despite the depictions portrayed in the Jurassic Park films, probably also sported feathers.

The other Bornholm dinosaur tooth, which was found several years ago but not officially classified as 'Danekræ' is particularly worn, and its badly preserved state makes it less scientifically valuable than the other two, despite the fact that it possibly stems from an all together different type of dinosaur (the long necked herbivores known as sauropods).