Sweet 4.4" Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Skull

This is a nicely prepared Oreodont (Leptauchenia decora) skull from the White River Formation of Pennington County, South Dakota.

There is about 5-10% restoration on the skull. The zygomatic ridges have some restoration as well as a section at the front/bottom edge of the skull.

Because the eyes and nostrils were placed high on the head, it was long assumed that Leptauchenia was an aquatic, or semi-aquatic animal. However, because their fossils have never been found in floodplain deposits or river channels, and their abundance in fossil sand dunes, Donald Prothero suggests that they were desert-dwelling animals. According to Prothero's interpretation, the high-placed eyes and nostrils served to filter out sand while burrowing, or while digging themselves free of sand dunes.