A Ground Sloth, Megalonyx, from a Pleistocene Site in Darke Co., Ohio

Abstract

MILLS, RICHARD s. A Ground Sloth, Megalonyx, from a Pleistocene Site in Darke Co., Ohio. Ohio J. Sci. 75(3): 147, 1975. Bones of a ground sloth, Megalonyx jeffersonii, were found by Mr. Lowell Carter on his farm in Darke County, Ohio and reported to the Dayton Museum of Natural History. Subsequent digging by Dayton Museum personnel resulted in recovery of 93 Megalonyx bones and fragments. Comparison of this specimen with other Megalonyx skeletons from Henderson, Kentucky, and Powers County Idaho indicates that the Darke County Megalonyx is larger than any other Megalonyx yet reported. In addition this specimen contains bones that are not represented in previously reported skeletons of M. jeffersonii. A radiocarbon date of 12,190 ±215 years B.P. was determined for a wood fragment (Picea) collected from marl containing sloth bones.