Cumberland Bone Cave

Cumberland Bone Cave. . , In 1912 a Western Maryland Railway cut near Cumberland exposed a small cave. The cave, which became known as the Cumberland Bone Cave was found to contain a remarkable variety of bones from species now extinct. Paleontologists were called in from the Smithsonian Institution and excavation began the same year. Between the years 1912 and 1916, the remains of over 40 species of mammals including 28 thought to be extinct were recovered. Many of the fossilized bones date from over 200,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. Skeletons from what is known as the "Cumberland" Cave Bear and an extinct Saber-toothed cat are on permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History. Other fauna identified here include mastodons, coyotes, pumas and even a crocodile. Today, very little of this cave is still exposed. Remnants may be seen on the south wall of the railway cut at the level of the roadbed., The skull and mandible graphics depicted here are from Bone Cave specimens, and include, from top to bottom, the Cumberland Cave Bear, a Badger and a Wolverine., Sources: , "The Pleistocene Vertebrate Fauna from the Cumberland Cave Maryland" by James W. Gidley and C. Lewis Gazin, The United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 1938, Celebrated American Caves, by Charles E. Mohr and Howard N. Sloane, Rutgers University Press, 1955, Caves of Maryland, by Richard Franz and Dennis Slifer, Maryland Geological Survey, 1971