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Re: Heterodontosaurs



 From: Jonida@aol.com
 > 
 > I thought only mammals have differentiated teeth. 

This is not strictly true, there are even some heterodont lizards
(some species of varanids, for instance).  It is just that mammals
*regularly* have heterodont dentition, and tend to be more *extreme*
in their heterodonty.

 > Are there any other
 > dinosaurs besides Heterodonts with differentiated  teeth? Where did they come
 > from and where did they go evolutionarily speaking?

The heterodontosaurids apparently evolved from basal ornithishchians,
and left no known descendents (i.e they were a "dead-end").


However, tyrannosaurids had slightly heterodont dentition, since their
maxillary teeth are quite distinct from their premaxillary teeth,
and the maxillary teeth tend to be larger towards the front.

swf@elsegundoca.attgis.com              sarima@netcom.com

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