5.4" Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Jaw - Wyoming

This is a 5.4" long lower jaw of Merycoidodon an Oreodont. It was collected from the the Brule Formation in Wyoming and would be approximately 32-34 million years old. Parts of the upper jaw including the impressions of the upper teeth are still present in the rock. Additional preparation work could be done to expose more of the lower jaw. There are a few repaired cracks but no restoration.

Oreodonts (the common name for Merycoidodontoidea) are extinct mammals most closely related to camels and pigs, though they have no close relatives living today. They were herbivorous animals with short faces and fang-like canine teeth. About the size of a sheep, they roamed the plains of North America in huge numbers during the Oligocene period.