Haynes Cave facts for kids

Haynes Cave is a special cave in West Virginia. It's part of the Greenbrier River area where water flows. This cave is found in Monroe County, near the historic Second Creek.

Haynes Cave is famous because it might be where a very important fossil was found. For a long time, people wondered if this cave or Organ Cave was the true discovery spot for Thomas Jefferson's famous giant ground sloth fossil. This sloth is called Megalonyx jeffersonii. Old records were not very clear, so it was a big mystery!

The Mystery of the Giant Sloth

Thomas Jefferson, who later became president, was very interested in these bones. He thought they might belong to a huge lion that once lived in North America. But he knew the fossil was not complete. So, he decided to call it "Great-Claw" because its large claws were the most noticeable part.

Miners and a Missing Bone

People who mined for saltpetre (a material used to make gunpowder) in the cave knew about the bones. They even used one of the sloth's leg bones to hold up a vat for making saltpetre! Sadly, this leg bone was lost over time. Both Thomas Jefferson and the person who first found the bones, Colonel John Stuart, really wanted to find the sloth's skull. The teeth in the skull would show if the animal ate meat or plants.

Identifying the Ancient Animal

In 1797, Thomas Jefferson showed the bones to a group of smart people in Philadelphia. Later, in 1822, the species was officially named Megalonyx jeffersonii to honor him. In 1799, a doctor named Caspar Wistar correctly figured out that the bones belonged to a giant ground sloth, not a lion.

Starting a New Science

Jefferson's work with these bones helped start the science of vertebrate paleontology in the United States. This is the study of ancient animals with backbones. He first thought the large (8-inch) claws were from a giant lion. But later, scientists found out these were actually the core parts of the claws, not the full claws themselves.

Solving the Haynes Cave Puzzle

On September 19, 2008, big news came out! Scientists announced that the mystery was solved. They used a special method called carbon dating on a shoulder bone (called a scapula) from a sloth found in Haynes Cave. This bone matched the skeleton that Colonel John Stuart had found. This proved that Haynes Cave was indeed the place where Jefferson's famous sloth fossil came from.

Since March 2008, the Megalonyx giant ground sloth has been the official "state fossil" of West Virginia. It's a cool reminder of the amazing ancient creatures that once lived there!