7.6" Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota

Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota #113106

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Artists reconstruction of Merycoidodon. By Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com)

This is a 7.6" long skull of Merycoidodon culbertsoni, an Oreodont, from the the White River Formation, Pennington County South Dakota. There is one small area of repair and gap filling on the occiptal and the right canine tooth has been reattached. This is a beautiful specimen.

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.

SPECIES

Merycoidodon culbertsoni

AGE

Oligocene (32 Million Years)