West+Virginia

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 * State: West Virginia
 * State Fossil: // Megalonyx jeffersonii //
 * Description: When it was discovered it was thought to be a prehistoric lion, but later on it was said that it was related to the sloths. It is similar to the ground/tree sloths today. It was about eight to ten feet long and weigh as much as 800 pounds. Its claws were more likely used to tear off leaves and branches to eat. It was a large and heavy built animal, with a blunt nose, large jaw, and big, round, long teeth. The back limbs were flat-footed and with its short tail, allowed it to rear up into a semi-erect position to feed on tree leaves. The forelimbs had three claws.
 * Picture:[[image:https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTjeOxlXjMyUagHrjcayEVaDnvP8uX87U_OgRHVBJdwPVqgM8tPg]] (The //Megalonyx jeffersonii)//[[image:http://images.suite101.com/2913863_COM_megalonyx_wistar_claw_580.jpg]](The //Megalonyx jeffersonii)//
 * Time Existed: The // Megalonyx jeffersonii //lived from the second to last (Illinoian) glaciation (more than 150,000 years ago), and has been reported from about 80 localities including the eastern two thirds of the United States and parts of western North America. During the Ice Age it inhabited woodlands where it knocked trees down and dug up vegetation with its claws.
 * Preservation: It was preserved and now on display at the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey Museum.
 * Who found the fossil/Why is it the state fossil: I n the 1790s, workers mining for saltpeter in Monroe County cave found several large bones. A man named John Stewart sent the bones to Thomas Jefferson, who presented the findings at a meeting of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia in 1797. In 2008, the state legislature passed a resolution declaring //Megalonyx jeffersonii//the official state fossil of West Virginia. Lawmakers, scientists and historians hope that the designation will encourage a greater study and interest in geology, paleontology, and American and West Virginia history. It was named in honor of President Jefferson because he was president at the time and he was the one the bones were presented to and he presented them to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.
 * Sources:
 * (2012). Megalonyx jeffersonii. Retrieved from http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2364
 * Cameron, C. (2008). // Jefferson ground sloth // . Retrieved from http://www.beringia.com/research/ground_sloth.htm
 * // What is the state fossil of west virginia? // . (2011, February 11). Retrieved from http://kevinschindler.suite101.com/what-is-the-state-fossil-of-west-virginia-a345549
 * // netstate.com // . (2011). Retrieved from http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/wv_symb.htm
 * Garton, E. R. (2012). // A founding father’s fossil // . Retrieved from http://www.wvcommerce.org/travel/wvtravel4kids/funfacts/news/fossils/default.aspx