4.8" Fossil Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Partial Skull - South Dakota

Fossil Oreodont (Leptauchenia) Partial Skull - South Dakota #284207

This is a partial skull of Leptauchenia decora, an oreodont from the oligocene-aged Brule Formation (White River Badlands Group) of Pennington County, South Dakota. The skull is approximately 65-70% complete with nice teeth preservation.

Comes with an acrylic display stand to assist with presentation.

There are a couple repaired cracks through the specimen as it came out of the ground in multiple pieces.

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 but are found abundantly abundance in fossil sand dunes, paleontologist 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.

$395

SPECIES

Leptauchenia decora

AGE

Oligocene (30 - 33 Million Years)