8.1" Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota

This is an 8.1" long skull of an oreodont (Merycoidodon culbertsoni) with natural open mouth preservation. It was collected from the White River Formation in Pennington County, South Dakota and would be approximately 30-35 million years old. The preservation of the majority of this skull is excellent considering most of these skulls are found heavily fragmented, partial, and compressed. This specimen features nice three dimensional preservation with very little compression or disarticulation.

It is accompanied by an acrylic display stand to assist with presentation.

The molars and premolars are mostly intact and only one has been partially restored (left maxilla molar). All of the canines are natural though each required crack repair. One of the incisors of the mandible has been restored and two of the incisors of the maxilla are missing. The mandible is mostly complete, with a section of restoration along the angle of the left side of the jaw. There is restoration to the nuchal crest, with spots of restoration scattered throughout the upper skull, mostly along the zygomatic arches and around the orbitals. Restoration accounts for approximately 10-15% of the specimen.