Megalonyx jeffersonii
Jefferson Ground Sloth
NOW The Official WV State Fossil

Thanks to Delegate Mike Burdiss (Wyoming County) and Senator Roman Prezioso (Marion
County), the State Legislature passed the resolution to designate Megalonyx jeffersonii the
official State Fossil of West Virginia.

The legislation was written and proposed by Ray & Mary Ellen Garton from Barrackville, Hassan
Amjad from Beckley, Robert Pyle and Dave Phillips from Morgantown.

The photo in the left is of the claws and bones of the left hand. The photo on the right is an enlargement of one of the claws and is 6 inches around the curve. The photo at the bottom is an endocast of the brain case.