7.5" Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota

This an nicely prepared, 7.5" long skull of Merycoidodon culbertsoni an Oreodont from the White River Formation of Pennington County, South Dakota. You rarely see them this nice and it displays beautifully on a flat surface without a need for a display stand. Merycoidodon culbertsoni is much more rare than the the smaller Merycoidodon gracilis that you typically see for sale.

Restoration to the skull is under 5%. The primary area's are a few of the front teeth, and the very back, lower corners of the skull where some erosion had occurred.

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.