Fossil Oreodont Skull
An extinct member of the prehistoric cud-chewing Merycoidodontoidea family (previously known as "oreodonts") that had short faces and fang-like canine teeth (broken off and missing from the example seen here). Oreodonts were widespread in North America during the Miocene and Oligocene epochs (some 5 to 35 million years ago). Though often described as sheep-sized, the group has traditionally been placed with the ancestors of pigs and peccaries, although some now argue they may be more closely related to camels.
This skull, along with a few scattered teeth and fragmentary long bones, was found by me near Scenic, South Dakota in the mid 1980s. The skull has some minor restoration to replace missing bone chips around the eye socket and along the cheek and bottom of the lower jaw.
Fossil Oreodont Skull
An extinct member of the prehistoric cud-chewing Merycoidodontoidea family (previously known as "oreodonts") that had short faces and fang-like canine teeth (broken off and missing from the example seen here). Oreodonts were widespread in North America during the Miocene and Oligocene epochs (some 5 to 35 million years ago). Though often described as sheep-sized, the group has traditionally been placed with the ancestors of pigs and peccaries, although some now argue they may be more closely related to camels.
This skull, along with a few scattered teeth and fragmentary long bones, was found by me near Scenic, South Dakota in the mid 1980s. The skull has some minor restoration to replace missing bone chips around the eye socket and along the cheek and bottom of the lower jaw.