Re: Oreodon(t?)

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <th81@umail.umd.edu>]

At 01:04 PM 3/12/98 EST, Donn wrote:
>I'm having a hard time finding an Oreodon in the books I have available to me
>because they all relate to pre KT - is it Oreodon or Oreodont? I've seen it
>spelled both ways and can anyone please tell me what period these were from
>and where they are most commonly found?  Thanks

Actually, it's spelled Merycoidodon, which is part of the problem...  The
name "Oreodon" (cookie monsters, to those in the know :-) is no longer used.
"Oreodonts" is still used for the larger group (techincally the
Merycoidodontidae) of these sheep- or pig-like hoofed mammals of the
mid-Cenozoic.

Best bet for sources: a general vertebrate paleontology textbook (for
example, M.J. Benton's 1997 _Vertebrate Palaeontology_) or a book
specifically on mammal evolution.

Oreodonts are best known from the Oligocene and Miocene Epochs of the
American west, especially the Badlands of South Dakota.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist     Webpage: http://www.geol.umd.edu
Dept. of Geology              Email:th81@umail.umd.edu
University of Maryland        Phone:301-405-4084
College Park, MD  20742       Fax:  301-314-9661