The giant ground sloth, Thinobadistes segnis, is a well-known and well-loved installation of the Florida Museum’s Fossil Hall. A striking example of the megafauna once known to Florida, it has been on display in multiple exhibits over the past 50 years. Pictured here is Dr. S. David “Dave” Webb, curator of Vertebrate Paleontology from 1964 to 2003, posing alongside it.

Thinobadistes segnis is not, however, the only species of giant ground sloth–nor is it the only species on display at the Florida Museum. One of several other species is Eremotherium emigrans, the reconstructed forelimb of which is pictured below on a table, with Dave Webb’s hand for a dramatic size comparison. 

We are able to enjoy the awe of these fossils thanks to the many years of effort, creativity, and careful planning that went into the development of the Fossil Hall. First opening at Powell Hall on May 22, 2004, the exhibit presents stories through time and through ecosystems alike, with a path that winds through fossils, sculptures, and narrative panels. 

Many of the displays came from Dave Webb’s own research in paleontology, highlighting the meticulous work he and his students put into the collection and preparation of the specimens.

David Webb posing with his hand next to a reconstructed fossil sloth hand, March 20, 2000

Dave Webb standing in front of the Thinobadistes skeletal mount, October 15, 1977

David Webb posing with his arm next to a reconstructed fossil sloth forelimb, March 20, 2000

More

• Florida Vertebrate Fossils: Eremotherium eomigrans
• Florida Vertebrate Fossils: Thinobadistes segnis at Mixson’s Bone Bed
• Remembering lifelong paleontology expert S. David Webb
• “Dr. S. David Webb”, Pony Express, Volume 12, Number 1, 1st Half 2003. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/education/pony-express/
• “Fossil Hall to Open in 2004”, Pony Express, Volume 12, Number 2, 2nd Half 2003. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/education/pony-express/
• MacFadden, B. (2005). S. David Webb — Paleontologist, Scholar, and Colleague. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History, 45(4), 129–142. https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.qqde3439
• Ray, C. (2005). An Idiosyncratic History of Floridian Vertebrate Paleontology. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History, 45(4), 143–170. https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.kbpj7372
• About the Vertebrate Paleontology archives

Photographs: Vertebrate Paleontology Archives, items S7.2.2.1, S7.2.2.4, S8.1.7.3, and S8.1.7.4