2nd-Graders Get Day to Bone Up on Early Local History

The creature weighed about 4,000 pounds, stood at 6 feet, bore razor claws and called Tustin home.

Now all that is left of the giant sloth are its 10,000-year-old bones, now displayed at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum with a host of other Pleistocene fossils unearthed by Orange County development.

Sixteen second-graders from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church were treated Tuesday to a look at the remains of local mastodons, camels, bison and other creatures.

“The scientists are pretty neat for finding them,” said Julia Greiner, 7, of Costa Mesa.

The youngsters, more familiar with dinosaurs popularized in films, were amazed to learn about early mammals that resemble modern-day animals.

“It’s scary because they look so big,” said Kathleen Mellor, 6, of Costa Mesa.

The sloth is significant since it’s one of the most complete skeletons of its kind in the nation, Steven W. Conkling, a paleontologist with LSA Associates Inc. in Irvine, said.

Much of the vertebrae, ribs, shoulder blades, legs, tailbone and pelvis remain intact.

Found in April 1996 in Tustin, the sloth was likely slaughtered by Native Americans since small protective bones are missing--an indication that it was skinned.

Also of note in the exhibit is a baby tooth that belonged to a mastodon.

“He didn’t get a chance to wear his teeth out,” paleontologist Lloyd Sample. “He’s just a baby.”

The museum exhibit will remain open at least until mid-October.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is $4. The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum is at 151 E. Coast Highway.

Information: (714) 673-7863.