Lot 508
COMPLETE FINGER OF HUGE GROUND SLOTH. Ground sloths in North America grew to great size before becoming extinct. Glossotherium chapadmalense was more than 13 feet tall and lived 1-2 million years ago in Taylor County, Florida. This gigantic rare black 8.5 inch long finger has a 5.5 inch slightly curved claw missing just a small part of the tip plus a robust 3 x 2 inch finger bone. These huge claws were used for defense against predators and to dig up roots. Glossotherium could stand upright and was mostly a vegetarian but it also occasionally ate meat. Ground sloths also have an important place in the history of paleontology in the U.S. as president Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter in August, 1796 about a large claw that he found from a ground sloth and this extinct animal was named after him, Megalonyz jeffersoni and marked the beginning of vertebrate paleontology in the United States.
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Estimated Value $600 - 800.
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