4.4" Fossil Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Skull - South Dakota

Fossil Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Skull - South Dakota #284205

This is a skull of Leptauchenia decora, an oreodont from the oligocene-aged Brule Formation (White River Badlands Group) of Pennington County, South Dakota. The skull is approximately 75% complete with very little crushing and beautiful teeth preservation.

Comes with an acrylic display stand to assist with presentation.

While the skull has not undergone any restoration, a portion of the upper skull (right side) is missing, along with the entire right half of the mandible.

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.