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Archaeotherium ingens were extinct pig-like mammals that have no current day ancestors. They were truely bizarre and fearsome looking. They had bulky bodies with short, slender legs with cloven hooves (two toes touching the ground), and long muzzles. The adults had a skull which reached 5 feet in length. Its mouth was filled with tusk-like canines, primative pointed premolars and large robust molars. There were large bony projections beneath its eyes. Their teeth suggest that they were top predators, consumming live animals and carrion and supplemented their diets with plants and tubers. Regardless of the large size of their skulls, they had very small brain cavities and likely functioned by instinct.
The Late Chadronian and Early Oligocene forests and floodplain environments of the White River Badlands are where the remains of Archaeotherium are most commonly found. Still, because they were top predators, their remains are rarely found.
Because of replacement minerals, most of the fossil mammal teeth from the White River Formation of South Dakota will fluoresce to some degree. The teeth are usually replaced by calcite, which will fluoresce a yellow to yellow-orange. Any green showing up on the specimen is usually chalcedony and is usually part of the bone or bone marrow. On a few specimens there may be a bright green at the base of the specimen this will be an oil based clay holding up the specimen. Any purple on the specimen is the UV light reflecting off the light colored areas of the specimen and is not fluorescence. The fossil teeth from South Dakota will fluoresce under either long or short wave, but they fluoresce best under both at the same time. You may see a photo of some of the specimens under normal light by returning to the main fluorescent page and clicking on the link "to view specimen material from South Dakota." You may also view all teeth by going to the fossil teeth page and then to the appropriate page for the teeth you want to view. The item number will be the same as the number in the fluorescent section without the "F" at the end of the number.
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Entelodontidae, Genus: Archaeotherium, Species: ingens.
Archaeotherium ingens - "Giant pig"
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Quantity in Basket:
None
Code: TSDP-102F
Price: $5.00
Shipping Weight: 0.21 pounds
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Time: Early Eocene through Early Oligocene, approximately 40 - 30
million years ago.
Location: White River Formation, South Dakota Badlands, USA
Dimensions: 1-1/8" x 5/8" x 5/8"
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