5.1" Fossil Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Skull - South Dakota

Fossil Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Skull - South Dakota #265289

This is a partial, 5.1" long skull of Leptauchenia decora, an oreodont from the oligocene-aged White River Formation of South Dakota. All of the bone and teeth in the specimen are natural and unrestored.

The base of the rock is flat, allowing for aesthetic presentation of the fossil without the need for a display stand.

Because the eyes and nostrils were placed high on the head, it was long assumed that Leptauchenia was an aquatic or semi-aquatic animal. However, because their fossils have never been found in floodplain deposits or river channels but are found abundantly abundance in fossil sand dunes, paleontologist Donald Prothero suggests that they were desert-dwelling animals. According to Prothero's interpretation, the high-placed eyes and nostrils served to filter out sand while burrowing, or while digging themselves free of sand dunes.

SPECIES

Leptauchenia decora

AGE

Oligocene (30 - 35 Million Years)