3.3" Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Jaw - South Dakota

Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Jaw - South Dakota #198209

This is a 3.3" wide partial skull of Merycoidodon culbertsoni, an Oreodont. It was collected from the the Brule Formation in South Dakota and would be approximately 30-34 million years old. The bone preservation is amazing with visible sutures and nerve/blood vessel pathways still present. Some of the molars are present, along with a portion of the upper skull and orbitals which are still filled with rock.

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 (~32 Million Years)