Merycoidodon

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Name/Title

Merycoidodon

Entry/Object ID

78.57.240 (b)

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: white

Collection

Fossil Collection

Acquisition

Accession

78.57

Source or Donor

Delmar Smith Fossil Collection

Acquisition Method

Donation

Dimensions

Width

1-3/4 in

Depth

3/4 in

Length

3-1/8 in

Location

Location

Cabinet

Window Space Case

Wall

West

Room

Fossil Room

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Permanent