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Oreodont Id


32fordboy

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Does anyone here know of a simple visual Oreodont skull comparison somewhere online? I have several to ID, including a very large one, but have a feeling a lot of the skulls we see on dealer websites have wrong or outdated IDs.

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Nick,

Maybe some helpful links HERE?

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Thanks for the link. Yeah, I fished through there a bit before realizing there are some plates at the back of The White River Badlands published by the South Dakota School of Mines in 1920.

The comparison I was having the most difficulty with was Merycoidodon vs Eproreodon.

I just dug up an Oreodont skeleton with a large 10" skull that just doesn't seem "right". He has some broken and healed ribs, too.

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Thanks for the link. Yeah, I fished through there a bit before realizing there are some plates at the back of The White River Badlands published by the South Dakota School of Mines in 1920.

The comparison I was having the most difficulty with was Merycoidodon vs Eproreodon.

I just dug up an Oreodont skeleton with a large 10" skull that just doesn't seem "right". He has some broken and healed ribs, too.

Nick,

Sounds cool! Can't wait to see some pics!

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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The attached plates of Eporeodon and Merycoidodon are from:

 

Thorpe, M.R. (1937)
The Merycoidodontidae: an extinct group of ruminant mammals.
Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 3(4):1-428
 
IMG1.jpg IMG2.jpg
 
 
 
 
 

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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A preview in Google books has an entire chapter with skull line drawings:

 

Family Merycoidodontidae LINK

 

in: Prothero, D.R., & Foss, S.E. (2007)

The Evolution of Artiodactyls.

Johns Hopkins University Press, 367 pp.
 
 
 

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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My third post is a charm! Here are some excellent plates from:

 

Scott, W.B., & Jepsen, G.L. (1940)

The Mammalian Fauna of the White River Oligocene: Part IV. Artiodactyla.

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 28(4):363-746

 

IMG1.jpg

 

This monograph also has a lot of dentition and skull measurements for Eporeodon and Merycoidodon.

Please send me a PM with email address and I'll be happy to send it for you!

 

 

 

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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That is amazing Nick. Looking forward to seeing the prep of work. I think it's interesting that the artists rendition of the fleshed out animal basically mimics the skeleton. I have seen the facial reconstruction from a human skull in clay where they use tissue depth to develop the features. I'm just wondering aloud if there have been more recent attempts to flesh out the oreodont skulls.

Thanks piranha for the links.

Jeff

The attached plates of Eporeodon and Merycoidodon are from:

Thorpe, M.R. (1937)
The Merycoidodontidae: an extinct group of ruminant mammals.
Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 3(4):1-428

It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators.

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I agree, it seems most reconstructions are pretty outdated. I imagine they look too cute or dog-like in the traditional reconstructions.

As a side note I also disagree with the view that oreodonts were herd animals. They are often found in burrows with families. Combine that with the larger canines in males, potential combative nature as indicated by large canines and broken bones, and several different types of genetically separated oreodonts. I imagine oreodonts were aggressive and protective to their little families and had battles for mating rights.

Here's a good write-up: www.douglasfossils.com/97_oreo_paper.html

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That's what I'm thinking, too. The elongated crest at the back seems to make the nose look short, but apparently the long crest is something the larger males got.

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I haven't either, that's just the word from a small group of White River hunters. They've noticed the particularly large specimens have the elongated crest. Of course, it's a far from scientific field observation.

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The early classification of oreodonts put them into numerous species. Scientists have since revised the early classifications but there is still confusion as to the validity of some species.

Often described as "pig like" oreodonts are now considered to be anatomically closer to camels. An inspection of oreodont teeth clearly shows characteristics closer to deer and camels. Oreodonts are believed to have made shallow burrows for protection of their young. I initiated a discussion on this forum about whether oreodonts had claws or hooves. The conclusion was more or less that they had claws which would support the burrow digging theory.

During the Oligiocene grasses were just evolving and animal types which would later be grazers were browsers. Certainly the oreodont falls in this category, eating leaves from low trees and bushes but also digging for roots. Their front teeth are not designed for grazing as much as later animals like camels. Oreodonts probably lived in small groups like peccary or wild pigs. I doubt they could be described as a herd animal. Their legs weren't as well designed for fast escape as deer, camel and hyracodon. They could probably run fairly fast but running would not have been their primary means of surviving predators. Hiding and fangs would have worked well to deter predators.

Since the oreodont became extinct long ago there are certain pitfalls in comparing it to modern animals. It lived in a time and environment different than today and was unique.

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I'll see your interesting oreodont facts and raise you one. Oreos are one of the few mammals in which, in a side view, the upper canine is in front of the lower. The upper is actually an oversized incisor. Don't believe me. Call your cat or dog over right now and peel his/her lips back. The upper canine is behind the lower. You can do this with your local human, but it is not nearly as obvious.

Thanks for your attention.

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