8.2" Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota

Fossil Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - South Dakota #263495

This is an absolutely stunning, 8.2" 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. This gorgeous skull is over 95% complete with very little restoration. Oreodont skulls of this quality seldom show up on the market.

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

None of the teeth have undergone restoration, though one of the incisors is a composite. Restoration can be found along the anterior end of the nasal bone and running down the anterior end of the maxilla on the left and right side, just superior to the canines. Restoration makes up less than 5% on this specimen.

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.