Vanished: The Mystery of the Oreodont
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 44° 33.167 W 119° 38.755
11T E 289844 N 4936677
One of three signs on Thomas Condon Paleontology Center deck.
Waymark Code: WM2PQ8
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 12/02/2007
Views: 40
One of three signs on Thomas Condon Paleontology Center deck.
Marker Name: Vanished: The Mystery of the Oreodont
Marker Text: Existing for over 30 million years, oreodonts browsed the ancient woodlands in great numbers and diversity and later adapted to the newer grassland landscapes. Yet eventually they vanished forever. Fossils give the only clues to this unique animal’s existence - and extinction.
The oreodont was apparently a blend of pig’s build and sheep’s life-style. Species ranged in size from less than 30 pounds to 700 pounds or more, and their fossils show a variety of structural and evolutionary changes over the ages. Still, they are gone. Perhaps the more swiftly evolving grazers - antelope, camel, and horses - reduced the oreodont population through competition for food sources and living space.
Many creatures from the John Day Fossil beds developed into animals we know today. The oreodont has no modern descendents. A fossil skull, a foot, a tooth -fragments of evidence are all that remain. The story of the oreodont is still incomplete, though like detectives, we learn more with each new fossil discovered.
Other animals have vanished, leaving stories to be uncovered here at the John Day Fossil Beds.
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