A RARE GIANT SLOTH HAND CLAW . ...

Description

A RARE GIANT SLOTH HAND CLAW
Megalonyx jeffersonii
"Jefferson's Ground Sloth"
Pleistocene
Alachua Formation, Marion County, Florida
Megalonyx jeffersonii was named after our third President, Thomas Jefferson after he described the first bones ever discovered of this rare giant sloth in 1796. He incorrectly thought that they might be bones of a gigantic lion or tiger because the hand bones that he described had huge claws on the fingers! Later researchers noted that the bones were very similar to an extinct giant sloth named Megatherium that had been discovered in Paraguay by the famous naturalist, Baron Cuvier of France. In those days, nobody had any idea what a giant sloth was, but finally the connection was made by studying the bones of the much smaller extant species of sloth, and eventually was named Megalonyx jeffersonii, Latin for "Jefferson's giant claw". At the end of the last Ice Age, there was a very diverse megafauna across North American, including mammoths, giant sloths, saber-toothed tigers, bears, horses and numerous other large mammals that are extinct today. Unfortunately for the North American fauna, a very deadly non-native species migrated across the Bering Strait sometime between 35,000 and 50,000 years ago and took up residence here. That destructive and devastating creature was Man! Shortly after the colonization of North American, virtually every type of the largest mammals were wiped out - even horses, which were only reintroduced to this continent by the Spaniards on their 15th Century expeditions. Only bears, bison, elk survived out of all of the giant mammals that once populated this continent! This specimen is the fossilized claw core from the hand of one of these giant extinct animals. These claws were primarily used to denude trees and shrubs of their tender foliage. Megalonyx was a strict vegetarian and preferred the most tender shoots and leaves so it grew very tall and could lean back on its huge tail (which acted like a third leg of a tripod) so that the sloth could reach higher into the branches to find the most succulent foliage. An excellent specimen found at the same location as the giant Smilodon saber mentioned elsewhere in these pages. A small crescent-shaped chip of about 5 mm on the tip is the only restoration to this claw. It exhibits a uniform pink and cream color and clearly shows and preserves the fine details of the surface to perfection. Measures 6 inches long by 2 1/2 inches tall by 1 3/8 inches wide and comes with a custom black steel stand.

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