A little bird whispered in my ear this evening — the first trip will be September 29th and groups will be limited to 35 people.

Well, I've heard from a number of people, and all say there will be a Fall Season, albeit abbreviated. The most recent came from Tom Caggiano (NJPS), who spoke with Curtis last week. Tom reported, "he said they are still working on the schedule and that it would not be finalized for another week and 1/2 or so. Trips would probably start in October and there are more request than spots." Well, good luck to all.

I found out this evening that some time in March, the ISP that hosts elasmo.com, stopped forwarding mail from the website to my e-mail account. In late May, the mailbox filled up and mail has been rejected since that time. I was able to recover many letters (but not all) and will respond to them in the next couple weeks. If you are waiting for a response, and don't get one by late September, consider your mail lost, but please feel free to write again.

Just a quick note to say that an Aquia Fauna page is now up. The page as released primarily covers the Piscataway Member. Over the next six to twelve months we hope to sufficiently sample the Paspotansa to properly present it as well.

The initial version of the page covers previously reported species with a couple new ones. We are currently sitting on additional unreported tooth-designs, but have elected to delay including them at this time. As we verify their presence and/or identification, they will be added to the page. As always, feedback and suggestions are requested.

Well, it's been over a month so I guess it's time for a few items. According to Pat Young, the Fossil Fair was a success, raising much needed funds for the museum. She asked me to pass on a quick note,

"I would like to thank all who donated items, time and money to help the Aurora Fossil Museum. I hope all had a chance to see the progress that is being made to help it become a serious, if small, part of the scientific community."

A new "Fauna" page is nearing completion. Gary Grimsley, Bill Heim, Rob Weems and myself have collaborated on an Aquia - Piscatway Mbr (Palaeocene of Maryland) Overview. Many of the supporting "Species" pages are already in place. We still have a few loose ends to tie-up (the triakids, for example, are being a bit tricky). In addition, the Dentition slideshow continues to grow. Rays are now creeping into this show and new summary pages have been added.

For those interested in extant sharks, one of the volumes of the new FAO Species Catalogue is now available. This is a three volume set, and Volume II [Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of sharks species known to date. Vol. 2 Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes)] is the first to be issued. Cost is $38.00 + postage (I got mine in about 7 days). The FAO keeps moving around webpages, but the last time I looked for this volume, I followed the below route:

Go to http://www.fao.org/icatalog/inter-e.htm
Select "Recent Titles" from the left menu
Select "Index of Catalogues" from the upper tab
Choose "Fisheries" from the list
Choose "FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes"

Another item that might be of interest to some is a .PDF from the Louisiana Geological Survey entitled, 46-Million-year-old Marine Fossils from the Cane River Site, North-central Louisiana. It's intended for the general public, but is still worth the read.

Late last month Mike Everhart had a great find in the Kansas chalk — 16 feet of what might have been a 7 meter Cretoxyrhina mantelli. Mike just put up a webpage describing the find, see OCEANSOFKANSAS.COM's Giant Ginsu Shark.

The Smithsonian did a nice job on Lee Creek Volume III. Readers of this website will have noticed that ELASMO.COM does not totally agree with certain observations and conclusions. In Miocene shark and ray fauna of Malta, a paper appearing in The Central Mediterranean Naturalist (December 2001), Ward & Bonavia take exception to various Purdy et al (2001) conclusions and bring a European perspective to others.

What would appear to be an interesting book came across the VRTPALEO ListServer this week -- the publication of David Schwimmer's new book, King of the Crocodylians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus. It's available at AMAZON.COM for about $31.50. I tried ordering a copy, but dealing with amazon is beyond my tolerance level for frustration.

As the spring collecting season came to an end, it was necessary to combine two of Pat's reports to get one good news article. It was probably an omen when the Hatteras Fossil Club cancelled their visit. The 22 visitors (Grand Strand Fossil Club and others) that did enter found themselves sandblasted by the high winds. As Pat said, "by 1PM the sky was so black we decided we had all had enough".

Saturday provided no large teeth. Five megs did show up on the bus, but the largest was Jennifer Stroud's 1-3/4" anterior. For yet another week, it would be a Cosmopolitodus that took large tooth honors -- Mike Montebollo and Dave Grabda each found 2-1/2 inchers. Pat provided her usual detailed list of finds, but it's as hard to write about the unspectacular as to read it. She summed the day up very well, "Generally though, collecting was poor, with quantity overriding quality."

Saturday's rains were insufficient to help the North Carolina Fossil Club. Sunday's largest tooth was again a Cosmopolitodus (George Oliver's 2-1/2 " xiphodon). Only the cow sharks seemed to hold up well this season. On Saturday five were found, and on Sunday another half dozen or so, including Rita McDaniels' Notorhynchus symphyseal and Hexs by Rita and Eric Sadorf.

Pat concluded her report with a thought to this year's visitors, "I thank everyone for a safe and happy season to remember. Fossil collectors are the greatest people in the world!" I think I speak for all of us when I thank Pat for her efforts this season. Through her reports, I for one feel that I made more than one visit to the mine. I'd also like to thank BJ and others who shared their experiences this season.

And hey! — don't forget the FOSSIL FAIR next weekend.

According to Pat Young, the weather couldn't have been much better -- 70 degrees and breezy. Although promised, the rain held off until bus-time, and then only a couple drops. The Aurora Fossil Club held 20 slots and the Old Dominion Earth Science Society another 8. In addition, there were special guests from Carolina Power and Light Co. (3) and the Colburn Gem and Mineral Museum (2). Despite the collecting opportunities, only 18 boarded the bus.

Some megs were found, but all were small. Troy Lancaster found a 2-3/4 incher and his wife Becky, a small posterior. Bob Vanderbilt's was a 1-3/4 inch lateral and his wife, Carol, also found another. The day's largest tooth seemed to be Troy's 3-inch xiphodon ("lovely symmetrical mottling in perfect condition").

Pat saw at least six Notorhynchus teeth (Allen Lightfoot, Becky Lancaster, Terry Garrison, Doug Smith, Candace Holliday, and Ken Young) and a few larger (1-1/2 to 1-3/4") Hemipristis teeth (Dianna Hinshaw and John Bullett). Some pathos were collected by Terry Garrison (mako), Ken Young (Hemipristis) and Joy Pierce (tiger shark). "Rosanne found a whale skull in clay matrix which got hauled back to the bus to carry home It was quite heavy."

According to Pat, "other interesting finds included Candace's Cylindracanthus spine & Galeocerdo symphyseal, Ted Cordela's squalodon incisor & small sperm whale tooth, and a large porpoise tooth (Phocogeneus venustus) by Bob Vanderbilt."

Sorry folks, no detailed reports this week. Pat was tied-up at the Aurora Museum and DJ was out snake hunting. (Silly me, I thught BJ was fed up with men.)

I heard from no one that visited this weekend, so I'll pass on the second-hand reports that Pat garnered at the museum.

"Saturday (Southwest Florida Fossil Club) was a cold (50's), windy, and rainy day and everybody was more than ready to come out of the mine by 1 PM. Most collectors were in t-shirts and were miserable. Even so, the rain must have exposed a few Notorynchus and nice makos from the reports I heard. As usual, lots of tiger shark teeth (cuvier) were found. I suspect each of those collectors earned every fossil they found. No megs of any sort that I heard of."

Sunday saw the North Carolina Museum of Science, Columbus Rock and Mineral & Houston Gem and Mineral Society visit the mine. According to Pat, "the day started out sprinkling rain but cleared up. The Houston Gem and Mineral Society came a little more prepared for "IFFY" weather from what I saw of them on a museum visit Saturday. I only heard of one small meg and quite a few Notorynchus being found. Bird bones are still being collected. We had a nice carpo-metacarpal donated to the museum."

Well, Pat's back on the beat, but the weekend's rain came too late for Saturday's visitors (North Carolina Maritime Museum, Spartanburg Fossil Club and Richmond Gem and Mineral). They had a comfortable collecting day (70 degrees and hazy), but as Pat said, "the fossils did not seem to show up".

Looking over Pat's report, it seems Bob Johnson faired well, he found "a piece of fossil palm wood about 9 inches square and 5 inches thick...really nice" and a "Hexanchus upper lateral (7/8 inch wide at root)". I don't think Gary Greaser can complain, he found a seal molar, Notorynchus upper and a 1-1/2 inch blond lateral meg". Speaking of seals, Becky's back and found three seal bones and Pat, a large seal canine.

Other than the reliably abundant Carcharhinus and Hemiprisitis teeth, other finds were tough. Terry Denny managed a C. carcharias and along with Wayne Baker and Jeff Greaser found a Notorynchus specimen. The lack of hastalis/xiphodon, mako and Carcharocles teeth was striking. Besides Gary's meg, Pat only saw one other specimen depart -- Michael Dunn's reworked 2-3/8 incher.

With this weekend's weather and a mid-week call for rain, the Southwest Florida Fossil Club may find their drive to be worthwhile.

By the way, Pat mentioned that I failed to note that last weekend's Sunday trip was to Area 1. It seems to have potential, but is so narrow that it makes collecting difficult.

As always, we'd like to hear from first time collectors to get their take on the Aurora experience.

Sunday's visitors were the Calvert Marine Museum Fossil and Catawba Gem and Mineral Clubs. BJ Blake's original report was chewed-up in my cyber mailbox, but the full version is now available. She noted that, "this was not a great collecting day either," but some good finds worked their way out.

BJ reported, "George Powell got a 5" meg (lower A1) and a 3-3/4" walrus tusk (juvie). John Everette found a 2-1/2 and Tony Anderson a 2-inch chubutensis. Bill Counterman managed two dolphin skulls in matrix — one a partial and the other showed the snout to the orbital area. Ron Keil returned with a 10-point hexanchus, 2" xiphodon and perfect bird phalanx. Marsha Jones recovered a dolphin periotic with the stapes attached and Kathleen Bollick a sperm whale tooth. Notorhynchus were found by Becky & Eric Fritz and Paul Murdoch a C. carcharias. As for myself, I managed two pilot whale teeth, a drum tooth with all the root - over half an inch in diameter (huge drum!) and a dermal scute smaller than the drum tooth. The usual Galeocerdo, Hemipristis, Carcharhinus, Isurus, etc were in evidence, just not as abundant as usual."

Assembling at the parking lot early the American Fossil Federation was greeted by a bonus -- it had been resurfaced with fresh spoil pile material and washed by the previous night's rains. Bill noted, "As it turned out, more large teeth were found in the parking lot in the hour before the trip than were found during the rest of the day in the mine (ref image). There were about half dozen, more or less complete, C. chubutensis found, a small C. carcharias and many Isurus and Cosmopolitodus in the 2 inch plus range. Evidently, current operations are mining in a rich, deep water environment."

Bill went on to describe his observations of 'Area 2'. "The area collected has plenty of space. It is about 200 yards wide by 1.5 miles long. The flag line runs along a ridge on the right and the left is bounded by water. The flag line is bordered by a heavily beaten travel path, and the area bounding the water is flat and muddy, so there is no reason to risk expulsion by collecting either near the water or along the flag line. There was plenty of room for collecting (it took me and my collecting buddy 50 minutes to walk back from the end of the collecting area to the bus) and crowding was never an issue. The area closest to the bus is mostly Yorktown followed by mixed Yorktown and Pungo River formation. This followed by about 1/2 mile of mostly James City formation with small spots of Pungo scattered about. The final 100 yards or so is mostly Pungo with the top end corner Yorktown. The whole collecting area appears to be in what I believe was a shallow water environment. There were numerous seal bones found along with several bird bones. These are usually found concentrated along what seems to have been a few low islands in what is now the mining area. In addition, the fauna also indicates a shallow environment to me. For example, my wife found 5 bull shark teeth and no dusky shark teeth in the Yorktown. The usual ratio in Lee Creek is about 40 or 50 dusky teeth to each bull shark tooth. Duskies seem to prefer deeper water than bull sharks. In addition, she found 3 sandbar shark teeth and a few blacktip shark teeth, also shallow water species."

"Collecting in the mine was slow going. There were few Carcharocles teeth found with Eric Woody's 3.5 inch, perfect lower lateral, the largest (ref image). The next best tooth was a near 3 inch hastalis/xiphodon which I did not see. Most people seem to concentrate on the Yorktown in hopes of finding a big tooth. I focused largely on the Pungo, while checking any spots of Yorktown as I found them. The Pungo fauna was somewhat of a surprise. Although I found no C. chubutensis or even pieces of them in the Pungo, I got several nice Isurus and hastalis teeth. What surprised me was the scarcity of small teeth and the virtual absence of ray bars (only 3 the entire day). Usually the Pungo formation is virtually paved with them!"

"Although I have collected in the mine when the collecting has been better, I was not at all disappointed as I found several nice makos, a couple of bird bones, some seal bones, a fish skull, a spectacular ray dermal scute and numerous common items. A poor day in Lee Creek is still better than most good days somewhere else."

A .PDF copy of Kirkland & Aguillón-Martínez's Schizorhiza: a unique sawfish paradigm from the Difunta Group, Coahuila, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas, v. 19, núm. 1, 2002 is available for download at http://satori.unicit.unam.mx/19-1/(2)Kirkland.pdf. For anyone interested in sawfishes, this is an excellent reference.

It was the weekend for the Delaware Mineralogical and New Jersey Paleontological Societies -- my opportunity to see the new area and sample its offerings. I must admit, I didn't arrive with great expectations. There had been a light rain mid-week, but not enough to refresh the area since the prior weekends double-header. However I arrived in good spirits (great collecting Friday to the south) and the weather was already short-sleeved by 7:30 am. This weekend's report will not provide Pat's broadly detailed overview of the day; I'm not as good at interviewing and note taking.

Maybe Becky had word about the collecting conditions or was just plain lucky, but she elected to attend MAPS rather than lead this trip (the NJPS certainly missed her presence). In any event, the collecting could be kindly described as unspectacular. Those attempting to force a 'big un' from the Yorktown were particularly disappointed. Most successful in this venture was John Everette, and he only managed a 2-1/2 inch xiphodon. This might not sound all that great, but the day's largest complete tooth was BJ Blake's xiphodon, which was only slightly bigger (BJ did quite well, amongst her finds were a couple 2-1/2" class xiphodons, two Notorhyncus, a large porpoise tooth and a scapula coracoid).

This is not to say that material was scarce. Those who bit the 'Pungo bullet' faired quite well. The Pungo exposures I collected had been poorly picked by previous groups (they had Yorktown to work) and yielded numerous teeth. I didn't find that bramble tooth I was seeking, but the detailed scrutiny provided a small chubutensis, several hastalis, a half dozen porpoise, a couple damaged Notorynchus, a bramble denticle and a hundred-or-more other teeth (Carcharhinus, Galeocerdo, Carcharias, Hemipristis, Sphyrna, Alopias, Plinthicus, etc). If one is amongst the un-jaded, there was good collecting available.

Pat Young seems to have a touch of Tom Sawyer in her. Last weekend she found a meg and had BJ carry it out. This weekend, she found a large gastropod and convinced Howie Cohn to chisel it from its limestone matrix and carry it out -- Pat's my kind of collector!

Although having a sunny start, the skies soon clouded over and some of the collecting was done in the rain. I've always seen this as an opportunity to find interesting fish material, and the accompanying ?anglerfish specimens from the lower Yorktown is an example of this phenomenon

I've heard Area 2 described on numerous occasions, but never had a clear image of it. Getting off the bus, it is a long row of hills maybe 3/4 of a mile in length and 100-200 yards in width. To the left is water and to the right the open pit. The flag line along the top of the ridge is to keep collectors a safe distance from the deep sides of the mine. Visitors are now given and required to wear numeric tags. The 'buddy system' is being stressed a great deal more then the past. The mine is clearly concerned with the safety of collectors.

Anyway, a couple inches of rain would provide next week's group (American Fossil Federation) with some good collecting conditions.

After overcoming e-mail problems, Pat's Saturday report finally got through. I'll present it with minimal editing.

Pat young wrote: "We all woke up to a surprise frost this morning. The day's high was only about 63 and a strong wind blew from the West all day. Most people stayed close to the ground to avoid the wind. Two factors, the close-up collecting and a couple of really heavy rain storms this week, must have helped, because collecting was somewhat better. (We collected Area 2 again.)

Finally a large megalodon surfaced! Mark Nelson found a 5-1/8 & 3-1/4 incher plus two large damaged ones. A beautiful 3" lateral meg was found by Lauren Kam-Morgan. Mike Wehrle found a nice 2" lateral subauriculatus and Curtis Ormond, Jr. a small posterior. BJ Blake and myself spotted a nice 3" honey-colored meg in a limestone boulder. After spending too much time making it smaller, she earned the rights to keep it (by lugging it out of the mine).

Other teeth of quality found included: Paula Khoe's Hexanchus (10 points), Marge Noel's Squatina and Ken Young's Triaenodon (Whitetip reef). Notorynchus teeth were found by George Haskell and Ken Young. As for large xiphodon's, Tom Ging picked a 2-1/4 incher, and other good ones were found by Shawn Daugherty , Curtis Ormond, Mike Wehrle & Ken Young. Everybody seemed happy to have a good supply of small to medium teeth for a change.

Rhonda Knight found a Squalodon canine w/root and I found a 7-1/2" sperm whale tooth while digging (great condition). Quite a few bird bones were recovered today and a mastodon tooth fragment was found by Becky Hyne. She also found a partial porpoise rib that had obviously been broken and the bone had healed -- it was quite the curiosity to most of us.

I guess the word for today was getting closer to the ground pays off. We are expecting heavy frost tonight so it will be cooler tomorrow. Maybe another good report."

With a week off for eggs, fossil hunting resumed this weekend. The North Carolina Aquarium and Dahlgren Fossil Club were in on Saturday, but I didn't get any word on their results.

Sunday's visitors were Times Scientific and the National Capital Fossil Society. Pat reports that collecting continues to be reasonable. On the meg front, Becky found a nice 5-inch upper anterior and Frank Elder a 4-1/2" lower. Smaller specimens left with Bruce Beehler, Ditchweezil and Ken Young. Lots of xiphodons were found, including 2.5 inchers by George Powell, Fred Plumb and Vance McCollum.

The regular assortment of shark teeth were represented in the day's takes, including cow and angel sharks and a 1-3/4" Hemipristis by Bruce Beehler. Cuviers continue to be relatively abundant - Vanessa Jackson found two nice large ones. Rocky Culbertson and George Powell both found croc teeth and Vance McCollum a 1-1/2" sea urchin (Psammechinus philanthropus).

Looking over the weather forecast, no rain is expected for the next 10 days. I hope they're wrong; I'll finally get down there next weekend.

Things were lookin' good for the 35 members of the Maryland Geological Society when they gathered in sub-30 degree temperatures on Saturday. There had been serious rain on Wednesday and all day Thursday, so Area 2 had the potential to produce well. However, a large shadow was cast by a college group — they had collected Area 2 on Thursday. As Pat Young noted, "It was a perfect day for collecting. But alas, the fossils were elusive."

Only a few small Carcharocles teeth were found. Kiko Leonard (2-3/4) and a Brit David Jenkins (2-1/2") found megs while Bill Killen found a 2-inch chubutensis lateral. Becky Hyne got another Squatina and Notorhynchus teeth were gathered by Tony Anderson, Dwight Buck, Marshall Drecchio, Phil Schmitz and BJ Blake. Edwin Huizinga found a 2-inch C. carcharias but the rest of the shark finds were not particularly noteworthy. Just, as Pat notes, "A typical assortment of Galeocerdo, Hemipristis, small "makos", and zillions of Carcharhinus teeth.

Non-shark material continues to hold its own. The limestone marl is still yielding lots of porpoise teeth. Russ Byers got a whale periotic, Amy Lore a sperm whale tooth, Mark Bennett a nice seal metacarpal (donated to the Aurora Museum) and John Everette a crocodile tooth. Pat said,

"Several complete bird bones were found including a ulna, coracoid and toe bone. The most interesting collection of the day was found by John Adams: A hand-sized piece of crocodile scute, a pathological twisted sand tiger (with the cusp up high on a very twisted root), and an un-erupted whale tooth."

On a darker note, two of Thursday's college students went 'over the line'. They were seen by a mineworker, who reported it to mine superintendent, who went in and got them out. I hear that PCS will be having a meeting Monday morning to determine the fate of collecting. Club collectors have been following the rules all season without incident. It would really be a shame if the actions by an ad hoc group of students would impact all of us in this way.

Well, Saint Patrick must have been smiling down on the East Coast Fossil Club & Cape Fear Museum. It was a mild (65 degrees) overcast day with decent results. Pat Young provided the details and it was fun to read. Enough with the preamble.

Megs ranged from 2-1/2 to 4 inched. Kate Albertson & Becky Hyne each found two, and singles by Bobby O'Hearne and Greg Lampkin. DeWayne Varnam got 2-1/2" chubutensis. Smaller "makos" were plentiful, and a few larger xiphodons were recovered by Bryan Rountree (2") & Tyler Galloway (2-1/2 & 2-3/4"). Carcharodon carcharias teeth in the 1-1/2" range were found by Greg Lampkin, DeWayne Varnam, Phil Bobbins and Bryan Rountree. Notorhynchus specimens were taken by DeWayne Varnum, Bryan Roundtree & Pat Young and Cathy Swiatovy got a Squatina.

Mammal material was not to take a backseat this Sunday. Jon Markland a Squalodon (1-3/4"), seal canines by Rita McDaniel & Jamie Hartsell and a seal molar by our reporter. John Timmerman must have strayed out of the good areas because he managed to pick-up a 5-1/2" horse tooth (species not provided).

Speaking of horses, Pat says that Jerry Britt got a 12" Horse Conch and let's not forget about Ed Swiatovy's 1-1/4" Croc tooth. There were lots of porpoise teeth of all species collected and plenty of cuviers and hemis. Quoting Pat,

"Everyone seemed 'fired-up' with the collecting spirit. Lot's of nice fish fossils and loads of whale vertebrae were brought out. It was a great day for collecting. The East Coast Fossil Club, and John Timmerman especially, lived up to their reputations as 'sixth sense collectors'."

P.S. — Sunday's collecting was again at Area 2.

Observing from afar, it looked like the Dallas Paleo Society and Cape Fear Gem & Mineral should have had a good weekend. Since the mine had some 2-inches of rain, and Friday's visit by UNC was in a different area, there were high hopes by the 43 visitors to Area 2. As Pat Young reports, expectations (of the 'jaded') were eventually dashed. Yes, George Powell found 5 megs, however:

"One small one was a beauty, but all the others suffered damage. ..the largest was 4 inches straight up — maybe. Ed Swiatovy (Dallas Paleo) found "a small meg in a big rock" which he had to leave for a future collector. Brian Bowles found a nice small meg, a large fish tail and a nearly 2" Carcharodon carcharias. All the other teeth that I saw were the usual contortus, hemi, and Bull shark. A few nice Isurus xiphodon were found, mostly in the 1 to 1-1/2 inch range.. Scott Chapman found one that was black and white mottled — a beauty. He also found a Squalodon incisor with broken root. Galercerdo cuviers seemed to be, if not plentiful, at least in piles. Those who found them found quite a few. Others never saw one.

Becky Hyne found a pristine Dasyatis tooth, two partial brambles, some seal bones, fossil cartilage, and a complete echinoid (Echinocardium kelloggi). I found a partial jaw of a tautog with two teeth and a Squalodon molar with broken root. Ken Young found a seal incisor and a crab carapace (Rondallia) in matrix, near the bus.

Good and bad can be such relative terms. I received an e-mail from Harry Zirlin who made his first Aurora visit this past weekend. Despite the 20 hours of driving and his biggest tooth being a 1-1/2" mako, he wasn't disappointed. A portion of his comments include:

"Even the common teeth that are there seem to be in a much better state of preservation than teeth washed up on the Chesapeake or Potomac sites. Also the abundance and diversity of both the vertebrate and invertebrate fauna is incredible. I found one of the 2 Squalodon molars on Saturday and it is a privilege to be able to find and keep the remains of such a creature. I probably found more porpoise material in 6 hours, including a fairly large tooth, than I have in months of screening in Maryland and Virginia."

There is rain in the Aurora forecast for Tuesday & Wednesday, let's hope it's heavy.

I was uncomfortable about what the collecting conditions might be if not preceded by rains, and this week's visitors confirmed those apprehensions. Twenty-five DVPS members and ten independents had beautiful weather to test the productivity of the "long ridge" (aka NCPC area or Area 2) under rainless conditions -- Larry Decina (DVPS) and Pat & Ken Young provided insights into Saturday's activities.

Culling words & phrases from their text I found:

These isolated comments encapsulate the opinions of experienced (?jaded) collectors. On the flipside, the area still managed to produce a couple hours of half decent collecting despite the ever-present footprints.

One 5-inch and two 3-inch class megs were collected, but each was damaged. Another 3-incher was found in matrix. Although "nicer Hemipristis and makos seem to be elusive", marine mammals continued to appear. There were "lots of porpoise teeth in limestone", "2 really complete squaladont molars", "a complete seal tooth (2 inches)", about 30 porpoise & 10 (grapefruit-sized) whale vertebrae and several porpoise jaw sections. "Fish material is abundant but not the larger species" and a great Hexanchus tooth was reported. For those as myself interested in rays, Ken found "a nice double scute, navy blue in color, in the Jamestown material".

Facing these conditions, it is an excellent time to think small. Carry a few gallon-sized Ziploc bags into the mine. When you come across a Pungo Area, look for some Rhinoptera teeth (they are usually left behind even if the shark teeth have been collected). Scoop-up a gallon-or-so of tailings for study at home - it's the best way to add batoid (dasyatid, rajid and mobulid) material to your collection.

The Dallas Paleo Society and Cape Fear Gem and Mineral groups are scheduled in next weekend. With any luck, we'll get a report on their experiences.

The light drizzle experienced by the NCFC Saturday afternoon turned into a heavy rain (2 inches) overnight. The Aurora Fossil Club assembled on a cold & windy Sunday morning and prepared to sample Area Two, a day after the Colburn Museum's visit. Reports from Pat Young and Gary Grimsley have been included below.

Area 2 (aka NCPC area) is a long narrow ridge (flagged at the top) running east to west and largely covered with James City tailings. Gary felt that Pungo River sediments were currently exposed in 12% of the area while Yorktown might have only accounted for 3%. (Weathering should eventually exposure additional Yorktown sediments). Despite the downbeat assessment and the prior day's collecting, the overnight rains thoroughly replenished the fossil supply. These results are unlikely to be repeated again this season, but it's sure fun to hope.

About 20 Carcharocles teeth were found. Eric Thompsen's 5-1/4" meg was the largest followed by W C Mozingo's 3-1/2" specimen. Pat thought the most outstanding was Zack Hubbard's perfect 2-1/2" C. chubutensis (aka C. subauriculatus) lower anterior. [On Saturday, additional teeth were found in this area, including 3 and 4 inchers by Curtis, Jr.] Cosmopolitodus (aka broad-toothed 'makos') were plentiful, the largest being Gary's 2+ inch Yorktown specimen. Ken Young found a Paratodus tooth and brambles were collected by Ken Young and Becky Hyne. Tad Rust (Black Hills Institute) found an Isistius tooth, assembled a nice collection of otoliths and carried out a porpoise snout in matrix. Squalodon teeth were found by Jim White & Chuck Ball, an associated whale bulla & periotic by Judy Stiles and seal material by Jim and Judy. Quite a few sand dollars were collected as were a few Notorynchus and as isolated Squatina tooth (Kim Greene).

Pat suggested that I remind readers that: With rain, the area is "very soggy and hard to walk in. Boots are a necessity for comfort. Collectors would be well served to bring a walking stick as there are none lying around as in past years." Also, "at least consider bringing rain gear in the spring. As there is only one bus going in this year, the bus will leave the mine at 3 PM." As for the fossil museum, it "will be open until 4:30 on Saturday but I will not be allowed to open on Sunday this year." And remember to stay 25 feet from the water, it's a strict rule this year.

Next weekend it will be East Carolina University on Friday and the DVPS on Saturday. Some help from the rain gods could make for a half-decent experience.

This is probably the first time I wasn't tarnished by envy after receiving a report(s) of the opening weekend's collecting. However, circumstances may have conspired against the first in line while holding out hope to later visitors. It would appear that for this season, rain could prove even more relevant than slot date.

The NCFC was the first scheduled trip of the season. 35 members assembled for the 9:00a departure to the first of the new areas. Area One, as I'll call it for now, was described by Rich Olsen (NCFC) as being a 3/8 mile long hill (maybe 150' high) made-up of mixed and often poorly differentiated Pungo River, Yorktown and James City sediments. Collecting was restricted to one side of the hill and well marked by flags along the crest. The 'hill' is moderately inclined with some steeper sections and the material relatively fresh (poorly weathered surface). One section of the hillside (maybe 1/3) was largely Yorktown and received a great deal of collecting attention.

According to Rich, "finds were made all day, but not in large numbers...over all a slow but enjoyable day." Only one meg was reported, a 3-inch class tooth by Uwe Heine which Rich referred to as a "gem". Broad-toothed 'makos' (1.5 - 2.5" range) were common and several collectors (Richard Chandler, Bob Dubrock, Uwe Heine & Adair Poole) returned with nice Notorhyncus teeth. Rich managed to find a pair of C. carcharias teeth and was struck by a large (1.5") Hemipristis serra found by Bobby Tant. Uwe Heine, Mickey Monroe and Bill Ivory all found Squalodon teeth while Cindy Muston recovered an associated group of fish vertebrae (species unknown). Overall, the scope of the finds was typical but the quantity was well off.

In looking over Rich's note, I felt more hopeful for the NJPS April 12th slot. Although small by traditional standards, this collecting area is sloped which could respond very well to some heavy spring rains. The key remains to be collecting pressure. It is unfortunate that there were no rains after the Duke group collected Area One earlier in the week; this left the NCFC with the equivalent of a late-season slot.

I haven't heard from any Aurora Club members (Sunday's slot), so the nature of the other collecting area and its bounty is unknown.

Well, slots are awarded and lucky members of the North Carolina Fossil Club will get to taste the offerings this coming weekend. Let's wish them the best and hope they leave a few item's behind. They're calling for light rain, but I doubt that it will dampen the fun.

There's a new publication out there that might be of interest to some of you. Reinecke, Stapf & Raisch, 2001. Die Selachier und Chimären des Unteren Meeressandes und Schleichsandes im Mainzer Becken (Rupelium, Unteres Oligozän). Palaeontos 1, Antwerp. 73 pages, 62 plates.

I haven't had the opportunity to translate my copy yet, but it covers 18 sharks and 4 batoids from the lower Oligocene of the Mainz Basin (Germany). A new mitsukurinid is described (Woellsteinia oligocaena) and an excellent series of plates includes artifical tooth-sets of Carcharias acutissma, C. cuspidata and W. oligocaena as well as useful images of other species including Cetorhinus parvus. I'm sure this would prove useful to many collectors. It is reasonably priced and can be purchased on-line, see: Palaeontos 1

I received word from PCS Public Affairs that there will be a Spring collecting season and that scheduling is now in process -- details expected to be released in two or three weeks.

Providing a collecting opportunity with this year's limited collecting 'space' will result in a couple changes from last spring. Again, two areas will be provided, one will be "down in the old mine cut", but the other will be "the NCPC spoil pile". These smaller areas require weekend groups to be cut from 70 to 35 individuals. (To me, this decision makes sense -- overcrowding merely results in more disappointed collectors.) They are currently considering if a few Sundays should be added to the calendar. As a person who has collected (on several occasions) when there was no rain between visits, I'd weigh-in on limiting the collecting to Saturdays -- that would allow two weeks between visits, a much greater chance of rain.

Quite understandably, safety continues to be a prime concern of the mine's management. Although they are not calling for new rules this season, they have insisted on greater enforcement. Part of the negotiations in re-opening the mine to collectors was this issue. As an example: "anyone caught [straying beyond the stakes or not wearing a hard-hat] will be escorted off the plant site and not invited back". This behavior injures all collectors and self-policing will be more important than ever.