Partial Oreodont (Merycoidodon) Skull - Nebraska

This is a skull of Merycoidodon gracilis an Oreodont. It was collected from the the Brule Formation in Nebraska and would be approximately 32-34 million years old. This is a partial skull. It's missing both zygomatic arches and the maxillary and nasal bones have been weathered away. Interestingly a couple of teeth have ended up being deposited in the rear openings of the skull.

This specimen was collected by the Black Hills Institute.

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.