66 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



The characters of the genus, being founded on a sin- 

 gle molar, the only one known when Cuvier wrote his 

 notice of this animal, will require revision. 



Locality. As yet only three localities for the re- 

 mains of this interesting fossil are known — all in North 

 America, viz : — Greenbriar county, state of Virginia, 

 Big-bone-lick, and White cave, Kentucky. 



Place in the Geological series. The first notice we 

 have of the existence of this fossil genus is due to the 

 late Mr. Thomas Jefferson, former President of the 

 United States of North America, who made them the 

 subject of a memoir published in the Transactions of the 

 Am. Philos. Soc. of Philad. vol. iv. p. 246. 



Mr. Jefferson compared these fossils with similar parts 

 of the lion, to which he considered his animal con- 

 generic. Plaster casts of these bones were sent to Ba- 

 ron Cuvier, who was thus enabled to estimate them at 

 their true value, and to arrange them as pertaining to 

 an animal of the tardigrade family, and as allied to the 

 Megatherium. 



The bones forwarded by Mr. Jefferson to the Ameri- 

 can Philosophical Society, consist of " a small fragment 

 of the femur, or humerus, a complete radius, a cubitus 

 complete, broken in two, three claws, and a half dozen 

 other bones, belonging to the foot or hand." A tooth 

 and some other small fragment were subsequently ob- 

 tained by Palisot de Beauvois, from the same cave. 



Similar caverns to that in which these bones were 

 found, exist in great numbers throughout the west- 

 ern part of Virginia, Kentucky. Tennessee, and other 



