5.3" Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Mandible - Wyoming

Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Mandible - Wyoming #143853

This is a 5.3" long mandible of Merycoidodon culbertsoni, an Oreodont from the White River Formation of Niobrara County, Wyoming. There are some repaired cracks through this mandible.

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.