4.6" Oreodont (Merycoidodon gracilis) Skull - South Dakota

This is a nicely prepared Oreodont (Merycoidodon gracilis) skull from the White River Formation of Pennington County, South Dakota. It's 4.6" long and displays quite nicely.

There is some restoration on the top of the skull in particular the top of the eye sockets where erosion had damaged the bone.

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.