4.1" Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Partial Skull - South Dakota

This is a 4.1" long partial skull of Merycoidodon gracilis, an Oreodont. It was collected from the the Brule Formation in South Dakota and would be approximately 32-34 million years old. It's been nicely prepared with only one repaired crack through the middle of the skull.

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.