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Merycoidodon (meaning-"ruminating teeth"), Oreodon (meaning-"hillock teeth"). Merycoidodons are an extinct genus of land dwelling herbivores that lived in North America during the Late Eocene through Early Miocene (38 - 16.3 million years ago). They likely lived in herds and traveled from place to place. Preferring regions that were well-watered with plentiful and succulent food.
They had the appearance of a pig with a longer body, but were actually related to camels. Their mouths were equipped with a full set of teeth. Their molars were adapted for grinding tough vegetation. They also had strong canines (most likely for defense).
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. 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.
Specimen is mandibular teeth.
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Merycoidodontidae, Sub-family: Merycoidodontinae, Genus: Merycoidodon, Species: culbertsoni.
Oreodont - Merycoidodon culbertsoni
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Quantity in Basket:
None
Code: TSDO-103F
Price: $25.00
Shipping Weight: 0.19 pounds
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Time: Late Eocene through Early Miocene, approximately 38 - 16.3
million years ago.
Location: White River Formation, South Dakota Badlands, USA
Dimensions: 1-13/16" x 15/16" x 9/16"
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