Microstructural and geochemical investigations on Late Cretaceous archosaur teeth from Alberta, Canada

Microstructural and chemical composition studies on fossil reptile teeth from Upper Cretaceous localities of Alberta, Canada, show that the quality of preservation exhibits great variability within a formation, as well as within a locality or even a single tooth. The chemical composition of fossil enamel is close to that of modern enamel, whereas the chemical compositions of fossil and modern dentine are very different. It seems that fossil enamel may have retained some paleodietary information in its chemical composition, whereas dentine, as well as bone, likely did not. Paleodietary interpretations may thus be drawn from the chemical composition of some elements in tooth enamel, such as strontium, but more studies on recent reptiles are urged for comparison.