Thomas Jefferson was a remarkable individual whose brilliant intellect and voracious reading habits resulted in expertise in numerous fields such as politics, architecture and music. At a 1962 dinner honoring American Nobel Prize winners, President John F. Kennedy remarked, “I think that this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
Jefferson’s interests extended to geology and paleontology. He collected many specimen, and at the end of the 18th century published a scientific paper in which he described bones recovered from a cave in western Virginia (today’s West Virginia).
Thomas Jefferson Describes Megalonyx
In early 1796 former scout and Indian fighter John Stuart acquired several bones found by workers mining a cave for saltpeter, commonly used to manufacture gun powder. The cave was located near Stuart's home in Monroe County, then part of Greenbrier County. From a depth of two to three feet beneath the cave floor the diggers recovered an ulna, femur, radius, foot bones and claws.
Stuart sent the remains to his acquaintance Thomas Jefferson, who eagerly encouraged Stuart to search for more specimens from the cave. Jefferson studied all the bones and believed they belonged to a predator and member of the cat family which he referred to as Megalonyx, meaning the “great claw”.
In early 1797 Jefferson embarked on a 10-day trip from his Monticello home to Philadelphia, taking with him the bones and a manuscript describing them. Jefferson was to be inaugurated as president of the APS on March 3 and as vice president of the United States the following day. While not busy with these duties, he planned to share his paper at an APS meeting.
Jefferson had a couple days of free time before his inaugurations so he explored bookstores in the area. He came across a September 1796 edition of the British publication, The Monthly Magazine. In it he saw an article by French naturalist Georges Cuvier describing a clawed animal whose bones strongly resembled those of Jefferson’s Megalonyx. Cuvier named the animal Megatherium and classified it as a relative of sloths.
Because of the similarity of his Megalonyx to Megatherium, Jefferson realized that his initial identification of Megalonyx as a feline was probably incorrect and so quickly revised his paper in time for the APS secretary to read it at the Society's March 10, 1797 meeting. Many modern scholars view this presentation as the beginning of the science of vertebrate paleontology in the United States.
In 1799 Jefferson published his Megalonyx observations in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. In the same volume, physician and anatomy professor Caspar Wistar published a more formal description of the bones.
French naturalist Anselme Desmarest gave the fossil animal a complete scientific binomial name in 1822, naming it Megatherium jeffersonii in honor of Jefferson. Technically, the correct generic name is Megalonyx rather than Megatherium, and so today the fossil is known as Megalonyx jeffersonii, often referred to as Jefferson's Ground Sloth.
Characteristics of Megalonyx jeffersonii
Jefferson, like many other people of his time, didn’t believe organisms went extinct. He thought Megalonyx likely still lived in the unexplored western reaches of North America, and encouraged Lewis and Clark to look for the animal while on their expedition.
Today we know that Megalonyx jeffersonii is extinct, having lived from the Middle through Late Pleistocene Epoch (about 150,000 to 10,000 years ago). It grew up to 10 feet long and weighed as much as 800 pounds. Among living animals it is most closely related to tree sloths living in South American rain forests.
The claws were not used for catching prey and shredding furniture as in felines, but more likely for tearing off leaves and branches for eating.
Jefferson's Ground Sloth Named West Virginia State Fossil
Two centuries after Thomas Jefferson first described Megalonyx, West Virginia geologist/paleontologist Ray Garton led an effort to designate the creature as West Virginia’s official state fossil.
Delegate Mike Burdiss of Wyoming County spearheaded a push that included Senator Roman Prezioso, Delegate Joe Talbott and Senator Jon Hunter. Their efforts paid off when on March 8, 2008 the West Virginia legislature recognized Megalonyx jeffersoni as West Virginia’s official state fossil. In April Governor Joe Manchin did a ceremonial signing of a resolution, which also recognized the timber rattler as the state reptile.
This is the second state fossil honoring Thomas Jefferson; Virginia recognizes Chesapecten jeffersonius, an extinct scallop and the first North American fossil described in the scientific literature.
Jefferson’s interests extended to geology and paleontology. He collected many specimen, and at the end of the 18th century published a scientific paper in which he described bones recovered from a cave in western Virginia (today’s West Virginia).
Thomas Jefferson Describes Megalonyx
In early 1796 former scout and Indian fighter John Stuart acquired several bones found by workers mining a cave for saltpeter, commonly used to manufacture gun powder. The cave was located near Stuart's home in Monroe County, then part of Greenbrier County. From a depth of two to three feet beneath the cave floor the diggers recovered an ulna, femur, radius, foot bones and claws.
Stuart sent the remains to his acquaintance Thomas Jefferson, who eagerly encouraged Stuart to search for more specimens from the cave. Jefferson studied all the bones and believed they belonged to a predator and member of the cat family which he referred to as Megalonyx, meaning the “great claw”.
In early 1797 Jefferson embarked on a 10-day trip from his Monticello home to Philadelphia, taking with him the bones and a manuscript describing them. Jefferson was to be inaugurated as president of the APS on March 3 and as vice president of the United States the following day. While not busy with these duties, he planned to share his paper at an APS meeting.
Jefferson had a couple days of free time before his inaugurations so he explored bookstores in the area. He came across a September 1796 edition of the British publication, The Monthly Magazine. In it he saw an article by French naturalist Georges Cuvier describing a clawed animal whose bones strongly resembled those of Jefferson’s Megalonyx. Cuvier named the animal Megatherium and classified it as a relative of sloths.
Because of the similarity of his Megalonyx to Megatherium, Jefferson realized that his initial identification of Megalonyx as a feline was probably incorrect and so quickly revised his paper in time for the APS secretary to read it at the Society's March 10, 1797 meeting. Many modern scholars view this presentation as the beginning of the science of vertebrate paleontology in the United States.
In 1799 Jefferson published his Megalonyx observations in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. In the same volume, physician and anatomy professor Caspar Wistar published a more formal description of the bones.
French naturalist Anselme Desmarest gave the fossil animal a complete scientific binomial name in 1822, naming it Megatherium jeffersonii in honor of Jefferson. Technically, the correct generic name is Megalonyx rather than Megatherium, and so today the fossil is known as Megalonyx jeffersonii, often referred to as Jefferson's Ground Sloth.
Characteristics of Megalonyx jeffersonii
Jefferson, like many other people of his time, didn’t believe organisms went extinct. He thought Megalonyx likely still lived in the unexplored western reaches of North America, and encouraged Lewis and Clark to look for the animal while on their expedition.
Today we know that Megalonyx jeffersonii is extinct, having lived from the Middle through Late Pleistocene Epoch (about 150,000 to 10,000 years ago). It grew up to 10 feet long and weighed as much as 800 pounds. Among living animals it is most closely related to tree sloths living in South American rain forests.
The claws were not used for catching prey and shredding furniture as in felines, but more likely for tearing off leaves and branches for eating.
Jefferson's Ground Sloth Named West Virginia State Fossil
Two centuries after Thomas Jefferson first described Megalonyx, West Virginia geologist/paleontologist Ray Garton led an effort to designate the creature as West Virginia’s official state fossil.
Delegate Mike Burdiss of Wyoming County spearheaded a push that included Senator Roman Prezioso, Delegate Joe Talbott and Senator Jon Hunter. Their efforts paid off when on March 8, 2008 the West Virginia legislature recognized Megalonyx jeffersoni as West Virginia’s official state fossil. In April Governor Joe Manchin did a ceremonial signing of a resolution, which also recognized the timber rattler as the state reptile.
This is the second state fossil honoring Thomas Jefferson; Virginia recognizes Chesapecten jeffersonius, an extinct scallop and the first North American fossil described in the scientific literature.
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