Oreodonts of the White River Badlands of North-America

Abstract

Fossil skulls of oreodonts, family Merycoidodontidae (Artiodactyla), from the White River Badlands (USA) in the collection of the University Museum in Utrecht were bought late in the twentieth century by Professor Wichmann (UU). The oreodonts, now identified on species level, must have been collected from Oligocene and Eocene layers from the White River Badlands. The fossils range in age from Middle Chadronian (35.7 Ma) to Early Whitneyan (31.4 Ma). An overview of the geological setting of the White river Badlands is given as well as an overview of the Oligocene paleoclimate and paleoenvironment.