Florida utility crew accidentally unearths massive claw belonging to 11,000-year-old giant ground sloth named by Thomas Jefferson
The team in Florida's Manatee County was excavating to install a waterline when they encountered what they believed was just an ordinary tool buried in the Earth.
4 A utility crew in Florida found part of a giant ground sloth fossil.
Manatee County Government
'They were digging away and found what they thought was an ordinary tool,' Charlie Hunsicker, the director of Manatee County's Natural Resources Department, told Fox 13.
The tool turned out to be a fossilized claw from a giant ground sloth, an 800-pound behemoth that lived during the tail end of the Great Ice Age.
4 The claw belonged to a medium-sized Megalonyx jeffersonii.
Manatee County Government
'This was a wonderful story of happenstance,' Hunsicker said.
The giant ground sloth was given its scientific name, Megalonyx jeffersonii, by Jefferson, the US's third president, in 1797 after some fossils belonging to the extinct beast were found in a cave in West Virginia, according to the Sloth Sanctuary.
The ones dubbed by Jefferson are medium-sized compared to other ground sloths, primarily being smaller than the much larger Megatherium, Hunsicker explained.
'When South America and North America joined, those animals migrated up through Texas, Mexico and into the Southeast. All of this was really a tropical jungle and forest at the time,' he told Fox 13.
4 The Megalonyx jeffersonii was named by Thomas Jefferson.
auntspray – stock.adobe.com
The largest ground sloths could weigh up to a staggering 8,000 pounds and stand 13 feet tall.
The mammal had a blunt snout and a large jaw riddled with peg-like teeth. It was able to stand on its hind legs on occasion to eat high-up plants but could also shred any enemy with its three sharp claws, according to Sloth Sanctuary.
The Florida fossil was brought to a nearby science and nature museum to be properly preserved and eventually placed on display.
4 The largest of the ground sloths could weigh up to 8,000 pounds.
auntspray – stock.adobe.com
Very few ground sloth fossils have been discovered on the East Coast. The majority are primarily found in states along the Rocky Mountains, bits of the West Coast and even Alaska, according to Sloth Sanctuary.
Recently, fossils have turned up in the least expected places.
In March, an 'absolutely massive' footprint likely belonging to an Iguanodon was discovered on a coastal town's beach in England.
Last June, three tweens found a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil on a hike in North Dakota and even had their journeys later recounted in a documentary.
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New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
Florida utility crew accidentally unearths massive claw belonging to 11,000-year-old giant ground sloth named by Thomas Jefferson
A utility crew digging a trench in Florida came across a fossilized part of an 11,000-year-old giant ground sloth that was originally named by Thomas Jefferson. The team in Florida's Manatee County was excavating to install a waterline when they encountered what they believed was just an ordinary tool buried in the Earth. 4 A utility crew in Florida found part of a giant ground sloth fossil. Manatee County Government 'They were digging away and found what they thought was an ordinary tool,' Charlie Hunsicker, the director of Manatee County's Natural Resources Department, told Fox 13. The tool turned out to be a fossilized claw from a giant ground sloth, an 800-pound behemoth that lived during the tail end of the Great Ice Age. 4 The claw belonged to a medium-sized Megalonyx jeffersonii. Manatee County Government 'This was a wonderful story of happenstance,' Hunsicker said. The giant ground sloth was given its scientific name, Megalonyx jeffersonii, by Jefferson, the US's third president, in 1797 after some fossils belonging to the extinct beast were found in a cave in West Virginia, according to the Sloth Sanctuary. The ones dubbed by Jefferson are medium-sized compared to other ground sloths, primarily being smaller than the much larger Megatherium, Hunsicker explained. 'When South America and North America joined, those animals migrated up through Texas, Mexico and into the Southeast. All of this was really a tropical jungle and forest at the time,' he told Fox 13. 4 The Megalonyx jeffersonii was named by Thomas Jefferson. auntspray – The largest ground sloths could weigh up to a staggering 8,000 pounds and stand 13 feet tall. The mammal had a blunt snout and a large jaw riddled with peg-like teeth. It was able to stand on its hind legs on occasion to eat high-up plants but could also shred any enemy with its three sharp claws, according to Sloth Sanctuary. The Florida fossil was brought to a nearby science and nature museum to be properly preserved and eventually placed on display. 4 The largest of the ground sloths could weigh up to 8,000 pounds. auntspray – Very few ground sloth fossils have been discovered on the East Coast. The majority are primarily found in states along the Rocky Mountains, bits of the West Coast and even Alaska, according to Sloth Sanctuary. Recently, fossils have turned up in the least expected places. In March, an 'absolutely massive' footprint likely belonging to an Iguanodon was discovered on a coastal town's beach in England. Last June, three tweens found a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil on a hike in North Dakota and even had their journeys later recounted in a documentary.
San Francisco Chronicle
17-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Largest piece of Mars on Earth fetches $5.3 million at auction, but young dinosaur steals the show
The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5 million at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday. But a rare young dinosaur skeleton stole the show when it fetched more than $30 million in a bidding frenzy. The 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock named NWA 16788 was discovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, after having been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and traveling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth, according to Sotheby's. The estimated sale price before the auction was $2 million to $4 million. The identity of the buyer was not immediately disclosed. The final bid was $4.3 million. Adding various fees and costs, the official sale price was about $5.3 million, making it the most valuable meteorite ever sold at auction, Sotheby's said. The live bidding was slow, with the auctioneer trying to coax more offers and decreasing the minimum bid increases. The dinosaur skeleton, on the other hand, sparked a war among six bidders over six minutes. With a pre-auction estimate of $4 million to $6 million, it is one of only four known Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeletons and the only juvenile skeleton of the species, which resembles the Tyrannosaurus rex but is smaller. Bidding for the skeleton started with a high advance offer of $6 million, then escalated during the live round with bids $500,000 higher than the last and later $1 million higher than the last before ending at $26 million. People applauded after the auctioneer gaveled the bidding closed. Winner plans to loan dinosaur skeleton to an institution, Sotheby's says The official sale price was $30.5 million with fees and costs. That buyer also was not immediately disclosed, but the auction house said the buyer plans to loan the skeleton to an institution. It was the third-highest amount paid for a dinosaur at auction. A Stegosaurus skeleton called 'Apex' holds the record after it was sold for $44.6 million last year at Sotheby's. Parts of the skeleton were found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it's ready to exhibit, Sotheby's says. It was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. It's more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long, and is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the T. rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long. Mars meteorite is a rare find The bidding for the Mars meteorite began with two advance offers of $1.9 million and $2 million. The live bidding slowly proceeded with increases of $200,000 and $300,000 until $4 million, then continued with $100,000 increases until reaching $4.3 million. The red, brown and gray meteorite is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby's says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters). It was also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, the auction house says. 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,' Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in an interview before the auction. 'So it's more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.' It's not clear exactly when the meteorite was blasted off the surface of Mars, but testing showed it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby's says. Hatton said a specialized lab examined a small piece of the red planet remnant and confirmed it was from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said. The examination found that it is an 'olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,' a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby's says. It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth's atmosphere, Hatton said. 'So that was their first clue that this wasn't just some big rock on the ground,' she said.
Boston Globe
13-07-2025
- Boston Globe
The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby's says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters). Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,' Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in an interview. 'So it's more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.' Advertisement It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby's says. Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialized lab that confirmed it is from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said. Advertisement The examination found that it is an 'olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,' a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby's says. It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth's atmosphere, Hatton said. 'So that was their first clue that this wasn't just some big rock on the ground,' she said. The meteorite previously was on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. Sotheby's did not disclose the owner. It's not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby's said. The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it's ready to exhibit, Sotheby's says. The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby's says. It's auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long. The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company. Advertisement Wednesday's auction is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.
