Name/Title
MerycoidodonEntry/Object ID
78.57.240(a)Description
Crystal System: Hexagonal System
Description: Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Merycoidodontidae
Common Name: Oreodon
Age: Oligocene
Location: Brule Formation, Orelia, Nebraska
Description: This specimen consist of a major portion of the lower jaw, with highly detailed teeth and bone. The color is light to dark tan with light to dark brown teeth.
Physical Desription:
Merycoidodon was named by Leidy (1848). Its type is Merycoidodon culbertsoni. It was considered a nomen nudum by Cope (1884); it was considered a nomen dubium by Sinclair (1924); it was considered a nomen vanum by Lander (1998). It was assigned to Merycoidodontidae by Joseph Leidy (1848), Thorpe (1937), Scott (1940), Galbreath (1953), Toohey (1959) and Stevens and Stevens (1996).[3][4]
Most researchers in paleobiology and paleontology, however, now use the antecedent genus Merycoidodon to refer to this Oligocene epoch oreodont. The name "Oreodon" is actually a synonym of the fish genus Orodus, and is, thus, not a valid scientific name.
Taxonomically speaking, Merycoidodon (a.k.a. Oreodon) belongs to the family "Merycoidodontidae" (once known as "Oreodontidae"), a group of artiodactyls related to camels that were endemic to North America. Its ancestors date back to the Eocene and its last descendants are known from the Pliocene, so that oreodonts, broadly speaking, lived throughout the whole of the Tertiary era.
Elements: Lower Jaw with teeth.
Family: Merycoidodontidae
Fracture: Conchoidal
Grain Size: Fine
Hardness: 3 Calcite
Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Luster: Vitreous
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Phylum: Chordata
Rock Origin: Terrestrial
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Sex of Specimen: Unknown
Streak: whiteCollection
Fossil CollectionAcquisition
Accession
78.57Source or Donor
Delmar Smith Fossil CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationDimensions
Width
1-3/4 inDepth
3/4 inLength
3-1/8 inLocation
Location
Wall
WestRoom
Fossil RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
PermanentMoved By
Steve MillerDate
September 18, 2012Location
Wall
WestRoom
Fossil RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
PermanentMoved By
Steve MillerDate
August 21, 2012Location
Container
CenterDrawer
BottomShelf
LeftCabinet
Case # 49Wall
NorthRoom
Delmar Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
Permanent