Megalonyx jeffersoni, ground sloth model, Now The West Virginia State Fossil Baryonyx parrot-beaked dinosaurs

parrot-beaked dinosaurs

75 million years ago and had characteristics distinctive of the robust australopithecines Paranthropus boisei proved to be a treasure

Ancient Life and Geological Eras

The white lines are representative of fractures healed with calcite in the original specimen

found in South Africa and Kenya

Megalonyx jeffersoni, ground sloth model, Now The West Virginia State Fossil Baryonyx parrot-beaked dinosaursPresident, Thomas Jefferson, scientifically described fossil bones given to him by saltpeter miners found in a Monroe County cave in 1797. Jefferson thought they were the claws of a giant cat. In 1799 Casper Wistar re described the bones as a new species of extinct giant ground sloth and named it in honor of President Jefferson. Only recently have the bones been Carbon 14 dated at over 38,000 year old. On March 8, 2008 Megalonyx jeffersoni became the