Haynes Cave is a cave within the

Greenbrier River The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long,McNeel, William P. "Greenbrier River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. 2006. . in southeastern West Virginia ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. It sits within the complex

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

of the historic Second Creek watershed in

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

. Haynes Cave has been the only contender against

Organ Cave Organ Cave is a large and historic cave in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA. The surrounding community takes its name from the cave. In 1973, the Organ Cave System—also known as the Organ–Hedricks Cave System—was registered as a N ...

as the discovery site for

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

's famous fossil of ''

Megalonyx jeffersonii ''Megalonyx'' (Greek, "large claw") is an extinct genus of ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae, native to North America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. It became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event at the end of the ...

'' ("Jefferson's ground sloth"). The lack of accurate records and the vagueness of the descriptions had left much room in doubt for the true location of the sloth skeleton. Jefferson wanted to link the bones with early reports of a giant lion in North America, but knew the fossil was incomplete. He chose, until further discovery, to restrict the name to "Great-Claw," for it was at the time the most distinguishing characteristic of the skeleton. It was known that the saltpetre miners in the cave were using one of the sloth's leg-bones to prop up a saltpetre vat to aid in the process of manufacturing

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

nitre Niter or nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate, KNO3. It is a soft, white, highly soluble mineral found primarily in arid climates or cave deposits. Historically, the term ''niter'' was not well differentiated from natron, both of w ...

, but this leg was lost to time. Both

and the initial discoverer, Colonel John Stuart, hoped to find the skull of the beast, for the teeth would reveal its proper identity as a carnivore or herbivore.Jefferson, Thomas (1799), "A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia", ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', Vol. 4 pp. 246–260. In 1797,

presented the bones to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and the species was later named ''

'' in his honor in 1822. In 1799, Dr.

Caspar Wistar Caspar Wistar may refer to: * Caspar Wistar (glassmaker) (1696–1752), Pennsylvania glassmaker and landowner * Caspar Wistar (physician) Caspar Wistar (September 13, 1761January 22, 1818) was an American physician and anatomist. He is sometim ...

correctly identified the remains as belonging to a giant ground

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...

. Jefferson is credited for initiating the science of

vertebrate paleontology Vertebrate paleontology is the subfield of paleontology that seeks to discover, through the study of fossilized remains, the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct animals with vertebrae or a notochord. It also tries to connect, by us ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with the reading of this paper. The "certain bones" consisted of three large (8”) claws and associated smaller bones. He theorized that they were the remains of an extinct lion which he named ''Megalonyx'' ("giant claw"). These were later found to be the claw core, and not the claw itself. On September 19, 2008, the official news of this significant fossil discovery was released, and carbon dating from a Haynes Cave sloth

scapula The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on eithe ...

was proven a match to the skeleton excavated by Colonel John Stuart of

Greenbrier County Greenbrier County () is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia. History P ...

.Steelhammer, Rick (2008)
"W.Va.'s 'Official' Sloth Fossil on Display near Cheat Lake"
, ''

Charleston Gazette The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the ''Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...

'', Thursday, Sept 19, 2008. Since March 2008, the ''Megalonyx'' has been the official "state fossil" of

References

External links

"''Megalonyx jeffersonii'' Jefferson Ground Sloth NOW The Official WV State Fossil" ''at prehistoricplanet.com.''
{{coord missing, West Virginia Caves of West Virginia Cenozoic paleontological sites of North America Geography of Greenbrier County, West Virginia Geography of Monroe County, West Virginia Landforms of Greenbrier County, West Virginia Landforms of Monroe County, West Virginia Paleontology in West Virginia