The Port Kennedy Bone Cave is a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cave in the

Port Kennedy A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

section of

Valley Forge National Historical Park Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, taking place from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. The National Park Service preserves the site a ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

USA 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 territori ...

. The Bone Cave "contained one of the most important middle

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

( Irvingtonian, approximately 750,000 years ago) fossil deposits in North America".

History

The fossils in the cave were investigated by noted 19th-century

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

, Henry C. Mercer, and Charles M. Wheatley. Some of the fossils, such as an unnamed member of the beetle genus of '' Dicaelus'' are unique to this cave and have not been identified elsewhere. The cave was originally discovered by limestone miners in the 19th century. It was later filled in with

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

-bearing industrial refuse and the cave's location was lost. The village of

was largely demolished in the 1960s during construction of the U.S. Route 422 Expressway. The tract containing the cave became part of the

in 1978. In 2005, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

and geologists rediscovered the cave. It has been rumored that the quarry near where the cave is located near holds a crashed locomotive, which was used in the shooting of a now lost silent film in 1915, ''

The Valley of Lost Hope ''The Valley of Lost Hope'' is a lost 1915 American silent Western drama film directed by and starring Romaine Fielding. Produced by Lubin Manufacturing Company and written by Shannon Fife, the film portrayed the rise and destruction of a gold ...

''.

Remains found in the cave

Insects

Numerous insect remains were found embedded in clay masses in the cave. These included: * ''

Cychrus ''Cychrus'' is a large genus of rare snail-eating beetles in the family Carabidae. There are at least 160 described species in ''Cychrus''. They are found throughout the world, although more than 80 percent of the species occur in China. ''Cychr ...

wheatleyi'' * '' Cymindis

aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

'' / punctulatus'' * '' Dicaelus alutaceus'' * '' Choeridium(?) ebeninum'' * '' Phanaeus

antiquus Antiquus () was a Canadian power metal band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Their music combined different styles of metal into a unique fusion most closely likened to power metal, while being reasonably progressive. In their own words, "Far f ...

'' * '' Aphodius

precursor Precursor or Precursors may refer to: * Precursor (religion), a forerunner, predecessor ** The Precursor, John the Baptist Science and technology * Precursor (bird), a hypothesized genus of fossil birds that was composed of fossilized parts of u ...

'' * ''

Cicindela ''Cicindela'', commonly known as common tiger beetles are generally brightly colored and metallic beetles, often with some sort of patterning of ivory or cream-colored markings. They are most abundant and diverse in habitats very often near bodi ...

'' (2 sp)

Vertebrates

'' Mastodon americanus'' remains were found. (1871
Preliminary report on the vertebrata discovered in the Port Kennedy Bone Cave
''American Philosophical Society'', 12:73-102. Others included: ''

Megalonyx ''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 th ...

'' * '' Megalonyx wheatleyi'' (sp. nov.) (2) * ''

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 ...

'' (14) * '' Megalonyx loxodon'' (sp. nov.) * '' Megalonyx dissimilis'' * '' Megalonyx sphenodon'' * '' Megalonyx tortulus'' '' Arvicola'' * '' Arvicola sigmodus'' (sp. nov.) (2) * '' Arvicola speothen'' (sp. nov.) * '' Arvicola tetradelta'' (sp. nov.) * '' Arvicola didelta'' (sp. nov.) * '' Arvicola involuta'' (sp. nov.) * '' Arvicola hiatidens'' (sp. nov.) ''

Mylodon ''Mylodon'' is a genus of extinct ground sloth belonging to the family Mylodontidae, known from the region of Patagonia in Chile and Argentina in southern South America. With a total length of 3 to 4 m, it is one of the best-known and largest re ...

'' * '' Mylodon harlani'' ''

Sciurus The genus ''Sciurus'' contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America. Species The number of species in the genus is subject to change. In 2005, Thorington & Hoff ...

'' * '' Sciurus calycinus'' '' Jaculus'' * '' Jaculus hudsonius'' ;Others * '' Hesperomys'' * ''

Erethizon ''Erethizon'' is a genus of New World porcupine and the only one of its family to be found north of southern Mexico. The North American porcupine ''(Erethizon dorsatum)'' is the only extant species, but several extinct relatives are known, the old ...

cloacinum'' (sp. nov.) * ''

Lepus Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

sylvaticus'' * '' Praotherium palatinum'' (sp. nov.) nomen dubium * ''

Vespertilio ''Vespertilio'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae. The common name for this family is vesper bats, which is a better-known classification than ''Vespertilio''. They are also known as frosted bats. Species within the genus ''Vespe ...

'' * '' Arctodus pristinus'' (''"Ursus pristinus"'') * ''

Tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...

us americanus'' * ''

us haysii / copei'' * '' Equus'' * ''

Bos ''Bos'' (from Latin '' bōs'': cow, ox, bull) is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. ''Bos'' is often divided into four subgenera: ''Bos'', ''Bibos'', ''Novibos'', and ''Poephagus'', but including these last three divisions within the gen ...

'' * ''

Felis ''Felis'' is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the black-footed cat with a h ...

'' (poss '' Felis onca'') * ''

Canis ''Canis'' is a genus of the Caninae which includes multiple extant species, such as wolves, dogs, coyotes, and golden jackals. Species of this genus are distinguished by their moderate to large size, their massive, well-developed skulls and den ...

'' * '' Meleagris

altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music * Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type *Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US **Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Arka ...

'' / ''

superbus Superbus (Latin for superb, proud, arrogant) may refer to: * Superbus (band), a French pop-rock band formed in 1999 * 18596 Superbus, a Main-belt asteroid discovered on January 21, 1998 * Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (before 535 BC – 496 BC), th ...

Notes

References

External links

* Caves of Pennsylvania Landforms of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Valley Forge National Historical Park {{US-geology-stub