Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Oreodont

(Science: paleontology) Resembling, or allied to, the genus oreodon (a.k.a. Merycoidodon). An extinct Artiodactyl (even-toed ungulate) very common in North and Central American grasslands/savannas during the Oligocene epoch.

Appeared 48 million years ago (m.y.a.) during the eocene epoch of the Paleogene period (Cenozoic era); vanished 4 m.y.a. during the Pliocene epoch of the Neogene period.

Around 50 species belong to the (extinct) family Merycoidodontidae (a.k.a. Oreodontidae). Sometimes taxonomically linked to the pig-like Suina, sometimes to the Ruminanta, and sometimes placed in its own infraorder, Oreodonta.