Skeletons of the Cuban Ground Sloth in the 

 Havana and American Museums 



Some years ago, on invitation of Profes- 

 sor Carlos de la Torre of Havana, tlie Anier- 

 iean Museum deputed Mr. Barniiin Hiown to 

 investigate with him certain fossil localities 

 in Cuba. Asa result of tins joint cxiicilit ion 

 a large collection of remains, cliielly of the 

 extinct Cuban ground sloth Mci/iilnciiii.'i. was 

 obtained. Prom the materials we monntcil 

 two complete skeletons: one now stan<ls in 

 the hall of the Age of Man in the American 

 Museum, the other Avas sent to the Havana 

 Academy of Sciences Museum. The im 

 portauce of this skeleton was appr('ciat<'il 

 highly liy the scientilic fraternity of 

 Havana. It represents tii<> lirst discovered 

 and the most remarkable of the extinct 

 fauna of Cuba, as yet very little known. The 

 exercises at its formal presentation are pub- 

 lished in the Memorias of the Poey Society, 

 a scientifie associatiou founded in honor of 

 the pioneer Cuban naturalist Felipe Poey; 

 aiul in recognition of the part taken by the 

 American Museum, three of its staff, Pro- 

 i'essor Osborn, Dr. Matthew, and Mr. P>rown, 

 were elected among the first honorary mem- 

 bers of the society. The following extract 

 is taken from the report of the secretary of 

 the Poey Society, Dr. Aristides Mestre, for 

 the year 1915-1916: 



(Translation) 



"The Poey Society we state in conclusion 



has finished by naming its first honorary 



members; has unanimously bestowed that 



title, the highest in its gift, upon two illus- 



trions ('nlians, I >octors .Inan Santos Fer- 

 nandez and ,luau Cuiteras; and upon three 

 learned North American naturalists, Messrs. 

 Henry Fairfield Osborn, W. D. Matthew and 

 I'.aiiinni lirown. . . . They have contributed 

 to (lecijiher the enigmas which lie within 

 the soil that we tread upon and to bring 

 them back to life — reconstructing, through 

 the |iiiice(hires of science and the marvellous 

 Miethoils of an art truly amazing, beings 

 which existed in ej)oclis far remote from 

 ours lint \vhi(di today it is possible for us to 

 know ami study. 



And these three notable naturalists are 

 Joined — and it is of especial interest that we 

 should note it at this moment — with the his- 

 tory of the Mfiomorphus or Megalocnus 

 iikIciis, wiiose restored skeleton we see today 

 in this hall, and in the earlier stages of 

 whose pala^ontologic investigation Doctor 

 La Torre was associated. Ah! if Poey could 

 rise from his grave — which for our consola- 

 tion is very near to this place — and contem- 

 plate it, even were it but for an instant, and 

 directing his glance backward, recall to re- 

 membrance the description which he gave on 

 the 15 Se]3tember, 1861, of that fossil man- 

 dible from Ciego Montero, he might return 

 certainly to tranquil repose after exclaiming 

 with justified pleasure, 'My favorite disciple 

 has brought to a satisfactory termination 

 the work which I initiated half a century 

 ago. What progress palaeontology has made 

 in those five and fifty years!'" — W. D. 

 Matthew. 



Notes 



Since the last issue of the Journal, the 

 following persons have become members of 

 the American Museum: 



FeUow, E. H. Doheny. 



Life Members, Messks. Albert C. Bur- 

 rage, Michael J. Clancy, Anson W. Hard, 

 Jr., II. B. H.\RRis, and C. H. Sanford. 



Annual Memiers, Me.sdames William C. 

 Atwater, a. Frederick Beiire, G. H. Bend, 

 C. F. Chamberlaixe, and S. T. De Lee, 

 Doctors J. Kiddle Goffe and Eichard 

 Kovacs, Messrs. E. F. Abell, B, Lord 

 Buckley, George W. Chandler, William 

 V. Cohen, Martin L. Cohn, Rufus Cole, 

 Timothy F. Crowell, Burritt A. Cush- 



MAN, W. P. Depp6, Lee Deutsch, Hermann 

 Dittrick, William A. Duncan, Walter R. 

 EiMER, Stephen C. Hunter, Fredericko 

 Lage, Carlos la Rosa, Jr., Montgomery 

 H. Lewis, Charles E. Mathewson, John 

 B. O'Reilly, N. T. Pulsifer, and H. E. 

 Raymond. 



Associate Members, Miss Lauka Alice 

 JosLYN, Doctors Newton Craig, Omar F. 

 Elder, Henry Stevens Kiersted, Edwin 

 Lodge, Thaddeus Walker, Messrs. Alfred 

 Austell, Thomas J. Charlton, F. H. 

 DouTHiTT, Dean Emerson, John A. Mur- 

 TAGH, Dudley W. Smith, Vanderlynn 

 Stow, and Henry P. Williams. 



313 



