8" Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota

Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota #355957

This is a 8" long skull of an oreodont (Merycoidodon culbertsoni) with natural open mouth preservation. It was collected from the White River Formation in South Dakota and would be approximately 30-35 million years old.

It is accompanied by a display stand to assist with presentation.

The posterior-most upper right molar has been restored, along with one of the upper incisors. Both sides of the mandible has significant restoration along their posterior end. Most of the left zygomatic arch is missing and the right zygomatic arch has been restored. There are small spots of restoration across the upper skull and nasal region, with the nuchal crest being entirely restored. Restoration makes up approximately 8-10% of the specimen.

Artist's reconstruction of Merycoidodon. By Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) Creative Commons License

Oreodonts are an extinct mammal most closely related to camels and pigs. They have no close relatives living today. They were herbivorous, 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.

SPECIES

Merycoidodon culbertsoni

AGE

Oligocene (30 - 35 Million Years)