Pat Young reports:   The final collecting day of the PCS 2004 spring season included Aurora Fossil Museum festival volunteers, visitors from the NC Museum of Forestry and the Schiele Museum (NC). A month without rain can take its toll on any environment and the pit-car area was no exception. The soil had a hard sun baked surface and digging was nearly impossible. Knowing what these rich Pungo sands and limestones were hiding, and not being able to access it, was miserable to most of us. The major takes of the morning were three surface exposed C. chubutensis teeth found by Tina Sangeorzan, Sara Canfield (both first time collectors) and John Everette. Keith Robertson managed to find a Carcharoides catticus lateral, Ramona Krailler a large I. oxyrinchus and Paul Sangeorzan a small P. benedini (identified by George Powell).

Hoping that the previous weeks' brisk winds had shifted the sands a bit, Candace moved us to Block 26A. Although not prolific, collecting was better. Shortly after our arrival there, a warm shower of rain began and continued throughout the day. This brightened the landscape a bit and allowed Tina to take top honors with a perfect 4-inch Yorktown C. megalodon, exposed in a bulldozer track. Todd Power found a very nice (blue-gray) 3-inch posterior, and others were found by Ditchweezil (2-7/8") and Cindy Muston (2-1/4"). Decent Hemipristis teeth were picked by Karissa Hendershot (large lateral) and Bill Heim (1-3/4" lower). Bill used his special digging technique to also recover several associated porpoise vertebrae. Largest hastalis of the day was a sharp broad-form lateral found by Richard Altman (2"). Ramona Krailler and Sharron Edwards each found bramble shark teeth. Notorynchus were found by Richard (upper and lower) and Cindy (lower). George Powell came away with a C. carcharias (1") and John E. continued to add to his A. vulpinus collection with a nice lateral specimen. Drizzling rain prevented getting a head-count of G. cuvier collectors. The usual contortus, Carcharhinus and small Hemis were collected.

Material other than shark appeared rich for the end of the season. Karissa brought out a beautiful crocodile tooth. Bird bones, in outstanding condition, were found by Bill (auk femur), Keith and Richard (vertebrae). Jim White found a bluefish dentary containing eleven teeth. Mike McCloskey took home a whale periotic, while Karissa and Ditchweezil each found porpoise periotics (Kentriodontid). Candace brought out a 3+ inch Conus adversarius in perfect condition.

Thanks to everyone for a safe collecting season!

Editors note: I think we'd all like to express our thanks to PCS for their hospitality, the Ormonds for working on our behalf to gain access, the volunteers that showed up whether collecting was good or bad, and Pat for her outstanding reports this season.

This year's Aurora Fossil Festival will be held on May 29th beginning at 8 am. The parade will start at 11 am. Fossil Master is Dr. William Bean of Charlotte, NC — a major contributor of C. megalodon teeth to the Shark Room at the Aurora Fossil Museum.

The fossil auction will be held at the AFM Education Building, across the street from the museum, at 3 pm. The accompanying 5-3/4 inch Cooper River, SC megalodon tooth will be raffled after the auction.

Pat Young reports:   Block 26A appears to be demanding a well-deserved rest. No rain this past week and 86 degree weather took its toll on members of the Eastern Missouri Society for Paleontology and some non-club affiliated collectors. For most of Saturday morning, a 3/4-inch barracuda tooth, found by Melissa Perucca, had the 'largest tooth' honors. (Ken Young's cuda was in second place.) Whether the heat or perseverance caused collectors to get down and slow, finds improved as the day wore on. Spotting only a small portion of serrated blade rewarded Don Carr with a nice 4-3/4 x 4-1/4" megalodon (with minor tip damage). Another collector (Rich) rooted out a beautiful 1-1/4" chubutensis from under a bush. Liz Allyn rescued a 1-1/2" "xiphodon" from the hot sands. Next largest teeth finds included a 1-1/4" hastalis lateral & C. carcharias by Mike Rose, and a 1-1/8" lower mako by Melissa. Galeocerdo cuvier teeth were collected by more fossilers than I can list. Sharron Edwards continued her season's run with another (minuscule) bramble shark tooth. John Everette gave the shell beds a break long enough to find a nice lateral Alopias vulpinus. Other tooth finds were the usual small hemis, contortus and Carcharhinus teeth. Richard Habron found a shark denticle. Mammal material included a 4-1/4" sperm whale tooth (Melissa), porpoise teeth (Michelle Spence) and a backpack-full of whale bones (yard art?) collected by Carol Veigle. The most exciting find of the day had to be Richard Habron's porcupinefish (Chilomycterus schoepfi) skeleton found in a small lump of clay. Associated with it were perhaps 12 dermal spines that had dislodged from the clay ball.

Sundays' collecting proved to be even hotter and slower than the day before's. 86 degrees and no breeze greeted a group of eastern North Carolina educators who were being hosted by PCS. Becky Hyne started the day at the pit-car areas. Last weeks' pit-car area B had now become a working pad for the big dragline. Moving to pit-car area A, we were allowed to extend the area to include a shell bed where some nice finds were made. Two keyhole limpets were recovered as well as some great, articulated bivalve specimens. Pit-car hill A is in bad need of refreshment. A PCS employee was kind enough to stop by and offer us cool water and a backhoe to turn the pile, if we thought it would help. We declined the backhoe, preferring to hold out for a rainy day. (With so many mines and quarries closing their doors to collectors these days, this kind thought does not go unappreciated among fossil hunters.) At noon, we moved to the Yorktown piles that had been placed by the side of the road at the start of this season. They had been partly removed to make room for a road, but the area that was left provided good collecting. Items collected included makos (largest, Ron Edward's 2-incher), a pathological megalodon (Becky) and many very nice fish vertebrae. Becky also found a nice whale tooth, and I found a pilot whale (porpoise) periotic and two posterior processes from a whale bulla. Moving to Block 26B at 1PM, we were joined by a school group. Most of these first time collectors seemed to enjoy themselves while they learned to sweat and do the Pungo crawl simultaneously. Several nice teeth (makos, hemis and sand tiger) were found. One partial whale ulna with arthritic growth and a large lateral portion of whale skull left Lee Creek for new homes in science classes.

This weekend, thirty-three guests which included individuals and members of the Catawba Valley G&MS (NC) & National Aquarium (DC) visited the mine. Last week's results plus nearly 3-inches of rain earlier in the week suggested some reasonable collecting. Despite her flirtations of last weekend, the Pit-car area proved to be quite fickle.

Candace led the group first to Pit-car area B, the tailings that had been so productive last weekend, The new rains seem to have caused those soft sands to bury material then harden under the May sun. Collecting proved to be quite difficult. On a more positive note, this new location provides a splendid view of mining operations -- dragline, slurry area, etc.

After an hour and a half, we redirected our efforts to Pit-car area A. Collecting here was not great, but certainly much better. The beauty of these Pungo teeth is quite extraordinary, despite the propensity for damaged root lobes. This weekends Pit-car findings included: 3-1/8" chubutensis (Barbara Thompson), 3-inch megalodon (Mike Horvat), a beautiful 2-5/8" meg (Fred Maza) and two juvie posterior chubs (including a striking 3/4" specimen by Laura Aultman). Pit-car hastalis teeth were all small and the two nice retroflexus, both less than perfect. Other specimens of note were a 5/8-inch (large by Lee Creek standards) Carcharoides catticus, tiny (3/4" including roots) Squalodon premolar, wahoo jaw section (4 teeth) and more wood by Rita, now referred to as the timber lady. Contortus, aduncas & carcharhinid teeth were abundant, Carcharias, Odontaspis & porpoise teeth common and a few other miscellaneous species (i.e., Alopius & Rhizoprionodon) reported.

At noon the group proceed to old reliable -- Block 26a. How this section manages to continue to produce is quite amazing. It is never given a rest, yet continues to yield some decent finds. Cindy Clemenic earned top billing for her 2-5/8" Carcharodon carcharias (all black). Fred Maza and Rand Ward claimed hastalis (broad-form) specimens (2-1/2 and 1-3/4" respectively). Notorynchus teeth continue in relative abundance. Fred got two lowers, Rita a symphyseal and Sharron a posterior. Other interesting finds were a bramble-like denticle (Eric Fritz), beautiful ray scute (Michele Oldham) and a horse tooth (Glenn Bolick).

Comment: It seems that some visitors still show-up unprepared. Mine regulations require steel-toed footwear (boot, shoe, etc) and sleeved shirts (no tank tops, etc.).

Pat Young reports:   Cloudy skies, intermittent showers and mid-70 temps were in store for Saturdays' group -- members of the New Jersey Paleontological Society and independent collectors. PCS had decided earlier in the week to open another pit-car area (B). Although it could have used a little more weathering to make for comfortable collecting, it was extremely prolific, both in quantity and variety. At times it has been a struggle to find interesting items on which to report, but today's' report was limited only by the opportunity to get accurate information. When collectors are finding good specimens, they rarely take the time to chat.

We started the morning at pit-car area B and at noon moved to pit-car area A. Although in the past small chubutensis teeth have often been overlooked in favor of larger, showier specimens of megalodon, today they were a welcome sight. The largest I saw was found by Gregg Walden (3-5/8") followed by Karen Schlegels' 3-1/4-incher (she also found a pristine 2-1/4 inch black one). George Klein found one in limestone matrix (3") and Tom Cowell, a great 2-inch lateral. Other 'chubbies' from both locations A and B were found by Bryan Roundtree (2), John Everette (4), George Powell (4), Julie Glover (1), Dan Peters (5), Mary Lightfoot (1), Jon Markland (2) and Amy van Heerden (1). The huge number of partial chubutensis gave a hint of the potential this lower Pungo material holds. Large (2+") pristine hastalis and oxyrinchus were found by George Powell, Tom Cowell and Mary Lightfoot. Many smaller ones were also collected. Two large lower retroflexus were found by Tom Cowell and myself. Notorynchus lowers were found by Gregg Walden, Bob Dann and Bryan Rountree. Gregg also found two C. carcharias (2-1/8 & 1-1/4"). Bryan added an Anoxypristis rostral and two Squalodon teeth (minus most of the roots) to his bag. Allen Lightfoot found a Squalodon incisor. "Triaenodon" teeth were found by George Klein (a perfect, mottled specimen), Ken Young, Rita McDaniel and Bryan. Rita found a 14+ inch piece of fossil wood. Other finds were a crocodile tooth (John), sperm whale tooth (Gregg) and ray plate with 6 rows of teeth (George). Many other good lower Pungo teeth of many species were found.

Sunday followed Saturdays' pattern with showers on and off all day. Virginia Gem and Mineral Club, a group of educators from McDowell County, NC and several individual groups started the morning off with a visit to pit-car areas A and B again, hoping the rain had exposed more teeth. Almost immediately the sound of "I've got a meg" was heard. Although not as abundant as the day before, good specimens were collected. Chubutensis teeth were found by Uwe Heine (2-15/16" and 1-7/16"), Rafael Ruiz (2-1/4"), Nancy Collins (2-1/2"), Pat Hammond (2-1/8") and others. Several large "makos" were found, including a 2-1/8-inch upper hastalis by Greg Hall and a 2-inch lower by Jennifer Stroud. Greg also found a sperm whale tooth, Dulcie Hall a pretty piece of transparent yellow amber (copal -- fossil resin) and George picked up a crocodile tooth. At noon, Becky moved the party to the NCPC site. We were greeted by more evidence of bulldozing and very little washed areas. Most of the highly sought after Pungo tailings were a slush. The best find made at this site (by Becky) was a very large whale bulla that appeared to be complete. A few nice shells, a whale vertebra and some small teeth rounded out the day.

Pat Young reports:   The weather (partly cloudy, breezy and in the 70's) and the group made for a prime fossil collecting day. Members of the Delaware Mineralogical Society, Delaware Valley Paleontological Society, National Capitol Fossil Club, American Fossil Federation and Johns Hopkins Univ./APL Fossil Club joined forces with some club-unaffiliated fossil hunters to add Lee Creek specimens to their collections. News of no rain or wind the previous week was countered by news that PCS had agreed to open a small area, on the opposite side of the road at NCPC. This area is land that has been bulldozed but is steep enough to have washed some. It contains a mixture of Yorktown and Pungo sediments. Although not overly (tooth) productive, it still managed to produce megs — a 3-incher found by Skylar Streich and a smaller one by John Everette. Chris Lederach found a partial Hexanchus (over an inch) with 6 cusps. Others found really nice and undamaged "makos'. Most of the shell fossils were broken but some nice steinkerns (gastropods) in matrix were collected. Bill Heim settled into a small pile and dug out the largest tuna hypural anyone had ever seen. Brady Hamilton (exclusively a Pungo collector) preferred the flat areas opened last week. He was rewarded with 3 bramble shark teeth, a "Triaenodon obesus", and 3 pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) teeth (considered quite a curiosity by most of today's collectors). The older area of NCPC also produced two megs - a 3-1/4-incher by Bill and a 3-1/8" one by Ron Edwards.

At 12:30, Candace moved us to Block 26A. Although heavily collected the previous week, it still managed to reward us. I didn't see any megs from this site, but several nice "makos" were found — the largest being a 2-1/2" hastalis found by Matt Howard. Quite a few G. cuvier teeth were found. Other sharks' teeth of note included a complete C. carcharias (1/2", Nick Newhouse), Paratodus benedini (lateral, Blair Venables), a partial Hexanchus & G. cuvier symphyseal (John Keklak), Bramble (John Everette) and Notorynchus (upper & lower by Candace, and lowers by John K and Brady). Mammal fossils included two large whale vertebrae & a nice bulla (Bill Heim), two seal bones (John E) and two whale teeth (Sharron Edwards and Skylar).

Pat Young reports:   Great weather (77-80°) and the past week's three inches of rain gave all of us high hopes for prolific collecting this weekend. Saturday's group consisted of members of the Maryland Geological Society, NC Shell Club and the Hatteras Fossil Club. Starting the day at pit-car area A, we found the soft Pungo sands had washed considerably. Finally, "Triaenodon obesus" revealed itself. Rita McDaniel managed to find two although only one was complete. John Timmerman came away with the largest tooth, a 3-3/8" C. chubutensis that unfortunately was missing a cusplet. Still it was a beautiful specimen. A couple of smaller megs were also found, including two very tiny posteriors. Jeff Fisher found a really nice Squalodon molar. Several large hastalis were found. Judy Stiles came away with the best Anoxypristis tooth I have seen from this type of material. Most of these teeth are very worn and black when they turn-up. Hers has excellent detail and was a nice brown color. Other finds were typical lower Pungo smaller teeth.

At noon we moved to Block 26B to see what the rains had exposed there. It seems that most of the area on the west side has formed a dry coating of limestone that doesn't wash well. There was little evidence of any new material being exposed. The largest tooth found at this location was a pretty "xiphodon" (2-1/2") by Ron Edwards. The only meg I saw, small and missing a portion of root, was found by John Adams. Notorynchus collectors fared better with an upper found by Eddie Ochs and lowers by Becky Hyne (2), Ken Young and John Timmerman. John also found the only C. carcharias of the day. It too suffered root damage. Becky and Ken, who rarely venture out the Pungo, each came away with bramble shark teeth. Ken's was missing one cusp. Pathological teeth were found by Becky (C. taurus) and Sharron who found two (H. serra and a hammerhead). The few Yorktown pockets did produce some (recently exposed) nice fish fossils. The rarest find of the day was made by Lee Creek newcomer Sarah Downing (NC Shell). She found a tiny murex (Murexiella macgintyi), an extremely rare Aurora fossil, although known from the Pliocene to present. The last of these I had seen was in 1996.

Sundays' group (Dahlgren and Suanee Fossil Clubs, Richmond, VA Gem and Mineral/Society and a primitive arts club from Charlotte, NC) got the chance to sample NCPC and Block 26A. Rocky Culbertson managed to get the big tooth at NCPC, a 3-3/4" meg, minus a root ear. Chris Muhlsteff found a pretty blond one that measured 2-1/8" and Mike Dunn a 1-5/8 incher. Kathy Haberny found an outstanding Squalodon canine (?). The recently opened bulldozed flats revealed one large (2+") "xiphodon". Most of that area is pure Pungo and will surely reveal its secrets in time. Stopping by the side of the road for a few minutes produced a nice "xiphodon" for Marc Griffin but little for the rest of us. Block 26A proved to have washed nicely. Lot's of smaller teeth were found including some great Hemipristis. Large "makos" were found by Mark Jones (2-3/8), Clara Jo Elder (2-5/8), Louise Crain (1-7/8, 1-5/8 & 1-3/4") and Chandra Elder (2-3/8"). Chandra also found a 4-1/2" sperm whale tooth. A few nice Notorynchus lowers were found and one ray dermal scute (Steve Noel). G. cuvier seemingly occurred in clusters -- most who found them had more than one. Carcharhinus teeth were reported in abundance.

* * * It is also the time to remember sunscreen and extra water. * * *

Correction: Last week we reported on Susan Werner's C. megalodon as being from the Pungo River. Gary Grimsley witnessed the find and said it was clearly Yorktown. He went on to note that his 2-incher was hastalis (not a mako as previously reported).

Pat brought to my attention that Lee Creek Volume III is available as a PDF download (6.2M) from Bob Purdy's website.

Pat Young reports:   Members of the Aurora Fossil Club and visitors from the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher collected PCS Saturday. Not having any rain the prior week led Becky to allow us to sample the wares of three different collecting areas. We started the morning at 'pit-car area A'. These lower Pungo tailings produced one 2-5/8" (Pat) and one 2" C. chubutensis (Montgomery Lentz). BJ Blake found a nice crocodile tooth and Jason Brown a chunk of amber. Some small 'makos', Carcharhinus teeth and a few black, glassy porpoise vertebrae rounded out the collecting.

Upon moving to the NCPC cut (last collected March 29), we discovered that extensive restoration had been done during our two-week absence. Over half of the collecting area had been leveled by bulldozer. Not having prior knowledge or permission, we decided not to pursue these flats — making ourselves content with the much smaller area, most settled down to dig. Susan Werner was rewarded with a beautiful Pungo 4-1/2" C. megalodon dug out from an area near the road. Jason, who had started the morning stating his hopes of finding a bramble shark tooth, did just that in the Pungo tailings at the top of a hill. BJ found a barracuda tooth with partial root. Others collected smaller teeth and fish fossils exposed by this past weeks strong winds.

At noon the party moved to 'good old Block 26A'. Although heavily collected, it still produced surprises. Notable finds included those by Kim Greene (outstanding G. cuvier symphyseal), Carey Hubbard (posterior C. chubutensis), Gary Grimsley (2 Notorynchus and a 2" mako), Becky Hyne (pathological sand tiger), BJ (C. carcharias), Laura Norris (shark cartilage), John Everette (Notorynchus) and Matt Lentz (crocodile tooth). Richard Chandler (another tooth convert?) was on a quest for barnacles. He was rewarded by finding an associated tergum/scutum (the 'mouth' of the barnacle).

With the current shortage of safe fossil collecting areas, future visitors would be well served to come with kneepads and a nose-to-the-ground mentality. Good finds are being made by using this method.

Pat Young reports:   Cool breezes and sunshine greeted Saturday's collectors. The second group of members from the North Carolina Fossil Club and visitors from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences joined forces to tackle Lee Creek. Although 5/8 inches of rain the previous week was less than we had hoped for, we decided to give 'pit-car area A' Pungo tailings a try. This proved to be advantageous to those of the meg/chubutensis-mindset. George Wolf collected the largest specimen, a beautiful, almost black tooth that measured 3-3/8 inches. Bob Seifert followed that trend with a 2-3/4" lower. Intensive digging paid off for Ron (2-1/8" lateral) and Sharron Edwards (1-7/8" lower). Surprisingly, Sharron found her trophy digging in the shelly sediments. Several large (1-1/2"+) hastalis teeth, in pristine condition, were found. Cindy Munston and Meghan Kelly each found Squalodon canines. Jim Houston brought out a complete black porpoise atlas. Lots of smaller 'makos' and Carcharhinus teeth, and a few cuviers, rounded out the tooth collecting. These pristine black teeth have not been seen by some of the newer LC collectors and were quite welcomed. Shell collectors scrambled to pick up the attractive, orange-colored, articulated bivalves and gastropod specimens available.

At noon we moved the quest to Block 26B, the smaller of the two western collecting areas. James Bain assumed the role of mentor to two first-time LC collectors. He must have done a good job, because after only minutes, Erin Guinn picked up a 1-1/2 inch lower Hexanchus in the shell bed near the bus. James good-naturedly continued his search for good coral specimens to be used as school give-a-ways. Bobby Tant found a 2+ inch meg with matrix and Becky found a tiny (3/4") posterior. Becky also found a Squatina. Several lower and one upper Notorynchus were collected, as well as the usual small 'makos' and Carcharhinus teeth. Cindy managed to find a Squalodon molar to match her canine. Rising winds coaxed most collectors back to the bus for an early show/tell/identify session. There was no trip on Sunday.

Pat had the weekend off as I was finally able to visit the mine, joining the Calvert Marine Museum and North Carolina Fossil Club on Saturday. The weather forecast was sunny and in the high 70s, but the outcome of collecting was unknown. Curtis met the day's 32 visitors and explained that a new collecting area was being made available in the pit itself -- 'pit-car' area A. During the mining operation, phosphatic sediments are accumulated in various areas from which they will be mixed with water and transported through the pipeline for processing. When these hydration-stations are moved, the leftover tailings (Pungo sediments) are consolidated into mounds (about 30 feet high). There are currently several of these mounds in the pit. Saturday's visitors would be the first to sample this experience.

It was good to again find oneself below the Pleistocene soils. However, rather than entering a world of hills, ridges and water, the drive was more reminiscent of a desert movie with a shimmering Pungo mirage in the distance. The collecting area is rather small, maybe 75 by 125 feet, ranging in height from ten to thirty feet and the sediments, are well mixed Pungo. (I found the east end to be better for shark teeth and the west for invertebrates.) The 'take' was typical Pungo with small meg's, hastalis and mako teeth. 'Contortus' and aduncas teeth were typically abundant as was dolphin & whale material, and bird (Rich Habron). The limited area was rapidly stressed by collectors, and after two hours, we were given the option to continue collecting there or proceed to Block 26. In a close vote, the group decided to leave.

Block 26A hadn't been visited since weekend 1, so it was pleasant to enter footprint-free exposures. Collecting was at best spotty. Those sporting a shark tooth-only mentality regretted the move from the pit-car area. Others, who were either lucky or seeking non-shark material (i.e. Bill Counterman and Howie Cohn), appeared to have approved of the move. The largest meg of the day was Pat Young's (3-1/8") crown, the largest with a root was Pam Platt's (2-1/2") chubutensis but the prettiest was most certainly Joanne DuBrock's lower anterior. Several very nice hastalis and mako teeth were found, but the top three shark teeth were: Sharron Edwards' black bramble and Notorynchus symphyseals by Adair Poole & John Gecan.

Sharron Edwards was kind enough to provide feedback on Sunday's trip by twenty collectors from the Maritime Museum. She noted that Saturday's tee-shirt collecting was replaced by jackets — cooler temperatures and a stronger wind. A similar collecting template was followed this day: a couple hours at the pit-car area then onto older tailings (NCPC). The day yielded a number of smaller Carcharocles teeth (megalodon and chubutensis): Neill Cox, Becky, Ron & Sharron Edwards and John Nash (3-inch, largest of the day). The better 'mako' teeth included those found by Steve Simmons (1-1/4"), Paul Sumner (four in the 1 to 1-1/2" range), JoAnne Powell (2"), Ron Edwards (2"), Nancy Brown (1-1/2") and Sharron Edwards (2"). Notorhynchus & Rhizoprionodon teeth were reported, as well as sperm whale (John Nash) & Squalodon (Rita McDaniel) teeth, dolphin/porpoise periotics and bird bones.

I had the opportunity to meet Jason Brown, a new 'guide' for collecting groups. Jason is a PCS employee interested in fossil material and very willing to share his expertise of mining operations. I for one find him a welcome addition to the team.

Correction. Last weekend we reported on Diana's pufferfish beak and incorrectly listed her as Diana Masmurra, a double error. Nando spells his name Musmarra and Diana's last name is Fattori. They are over here from Rome, Italy, and I had an opportunity to meet them. They are delightful people and very active collectors -- I'm sure we'd all like to welcome them back next year.

Pat Young reports:   Saturday's collecting group consisted of Friends of the Museum members from North Carolina to as far away as Italy. After the morning pep talk and necessary paperwork, we boarded the trusty old bus for Block 26B, an area that had been enlarged slightly on Friday and offered previously uncollected sediments. Jackets were quickly shed as most collectors headed for the 'new stuff'. These tailings included both pristine Pungo limestone and a few small but nice Yorktown patches. A few megs did surface, and although not the giants of old, were welcome additions to collectors' bags. Largest was one found by Keith Matlock (3-1/2"). Others were found by Michael Dunn (2-1/2") and Tedo Kordela (2"); Tedo was celebrating his first trip to Lee Creek. Paul Orlando, after years of looking, finally found his meg, a 2-1/2 incher — unfortunately, it was in two pieces, 50 feet apart. ("Diligence pays off, Paul.")

A pristine C. carcharias (1-1/2") was collected by Michael Dunn, a beautiful upper Notorynchus by John Bullett and some of the prettiest cuviers and hemis seen in quite some time. Exposure to the sun had turned most of these specimens a golden yellow. Surprisingly, no brambles were found in the eroded Pungo marl. At 1PM we moved to the 'new' soil provided by PCS. There, Ted Kordela made waves with a stunning pathological "xiphodon". Other finds included a seal phalanges and an un-erupted sperm whale tooth (Diane Orlando), bird wing bone (Ted Kordela), bird sternum (Michael Dunn), whale bulla (Chris Herbstritt), porpoise bulla with posterior process (John Everette who apparently has given up his quest for teeth) and pilot whale tooth (Diana Masmurra). Diana also made the rare find of a complete puffer fish (Sphoeroides hyperostosus) lower beak. On a personal note, I found a left tarsometatarsus which I believe to have belonged to a puffin (Fratercula). There was no collecting on Sunday.

Pat Young reports:   Bundled up against brisk winds, 26 members of the Friends of the Museum gathered Saturday to board the PCS bus. Block 26B, which had not been collected since December 2003, was our destination. Although the smallest of three sites, it did produce some surprisingly good finds. The top find was, without doubt, a huge and perfect Paratodus benedeni found by Richard Altman. Only a bit of root was showing, proving once again, that a "nose to the ground" approach is best. Two small megs were found; a 2-3/8 incher by Curt Reid and a 7/8" one by Chuck Ball. Chuck also found a perfect toe bone (about 1 inch) of a perching-type bird and two large barracuda teeth. Mike Folmer and Ken Young each found bramble shark teeth. Surprisingly, only one Notorynchus was found — a nice lower by Ron Edwards. The Pungo crawl paid off for Sharron Edwards with a nice Squatina and a Rhincodon tooth. With other collectors in hot pursuit of 'deeper' territory, Carol Homon took advantage of having the 'nearer' Yorktown sediments all to herself. It paid off handsomely with a nice seal incisor. Melvie Hatfield brought out a great bird ulna (2-1/2"). Other finds were the "usual suspects" — Carcharhinus, a few small nice 'mako and cuvier teeth.

At 1PM, the bus moved to the new site set aside by PCS. This area is an attempt to provide fresh Yorktown and Pungo tailings and is in the developmental stage. It currently contains about 20 truckloads of sediments, still very wet with quite a bit of clay. The Pungo marl is somewhat mixed with the Yorktown making it very hard to dig. Two hills were leveled by two collectors in short order, producing one cuvier and one 2-1/4" 'xiphodon'. A few loads of fresh reject had been delivered and Joanne Dubrock found a nice piece of amber in that material. Others tried sifting but it produced only tiny teeth. Harry Hyaduck did find three sperm whale teeth in the same pile that Mike Keklak had found five the week before. (That opened up a whole new discussion on ethics and protocol. In the "old days", the site surely would have been saved for the initial finder, but without any precedent, we ponder still.) Richard Olsen found his fist big meg (5-1/4") — he is keeping its location a secret for now.

Sunday's collecting time was split between Block 26A and the NCPC site. Both had been collected the previous week and there had been no rain. In 26A, Jeffery Roseman managed to find a meg (2-1/4"). One crocodile tooth and one beautiful ray scute were seen, but other finds were not as showy. NCPC produced two lovely small megs (2+") for Pam Platt. Although not large, a few nice 'xiphodon' and hastalis were also found there. Lot's of socializing rounded out the afternoon.

The general consensus of all with whom I spoke is that, although we all appreciate the effort by PCS, we long for access to the pit. For most of us, it's not all about big, showy fossils but the quiet quest for something new to add to our collections, the chance to help science by finding new species, finding fossils in good condition and finding enough that we can continue to share our collections with schools and museums. We wait patiently for those magic words, THE PIT IS OPEN.

At the last moment, circumstances conspired to keep me from joining the Friends on the kick-off weekend. Fortunately, Pat was there to experience and report on (but not image) the results.

Pat Young reports:   Saturday's and Sunday's Lee Creek collectors were made up of Friends of the Museum members. If the collecting had been as good as the weather, it would have seemed like the old days. Unfortunately, the mine has again allocated areas that had been heavily collected over the past couple of seasons — the NCPC block and Blocks 26A & B (seasoned collectors, and those doing research on the various fossil faunas represented at PCS, had hoped for a chance to explore uncontaminated sediments). Even with this disappointment, the mood of the day was positive; old friends renewed friendships that had been in winter hibernation.

Saturday's group challenged Block 26A. The winter's wind & rain and a "slightly" expanded new collecting area provided a diversity of fossils, although specimen numbers were small. Two "megs" were reported: a two-inch "subauriculatus" found by Rocky Culbertson and a 1-7/8 inch C. megalodon by Becky Hyne. Becky and Ken Young also found bramble teeth. Ken and Jay Goldberg each found Squatina teeth. Six Notorynchus teeth were reported (Ken, Rocky, Sharron Edwards, Ira Guy and Fred Mazza each found lowers) and Rocky also found a nice upper. Jason Brown found a "run" of G. cuvier teeth and worked his hill upwards until it ran out of them. Rita McDaniel found a small pathological tooth which none of us could identify. Mike McCloskey and Judy Stiles each found ray dermal denticles. Small "mako" & Carcharhinus teeth, and the ever present "G." contortus, rounded out the shark/ray list. Marine mammal fossils were collected by Trish Kohler (porpoise humerus, periotic and bulla), George Klein (beautiful black baleen bulla), Fred Mazza (4-inch sperm whale tooth), Mike McCloskey (pilot whale tooth) and Cindy Muston (whale rib with bite marks). Bill Counterman found two nice seal bones. Other finds of note included a turtle vertebra (Mike), Bonita tail (Trish) and a drumfish pharyngeal plate (Fred).

The NCPC site was chosen for Sunday's collectors to begin their quest. With new tailings (some bulldozing in prior months and a slightly extended area) it was hoped that new fossils had been exposed — that appeared not to be the case. Only one C. megalodon was reported, a beautiful jet-black specimen in the 3-1/2 inch range. A few small "makos", weathered cuvier teeth and the ever present Carcharhinus rounded out the 'apron-holdings' for most collectors. Bill Heim settled himself into one spot and intensive digging managed to produce an extremely large and nice Hemipristis and a large "mako". Even dolphin/porpoise teeth seemed elusive, as most of the good Pungo sediments had been mixed in with other tailings. After diligent searching, John Keklak finally managed to come up with one near 1 pm. It appears that the prime collecting areas of NCPC are all under water or have been bulldozed into fossil oblivion. Those few fish and shell fossils (other than bivalves) that were collected were badly damaged. A few whale vertebrae (with only small parts showing) were recovered by sharp-eyed, on the knees, collectors. At 2 pm, we decided to try those new tailings deposited by PCS. Several collectors decided to try their luck in these fresh "rejects" while others brought out their rakes and attacked the wet Yorktown sands. Unfortunately, these wet, clayey tailings made for difficult collecting. A few nice "makos" and six small sperm whale teeth were found, as well as a partial Wahoo jaw with several teeth. As for me, after raking and breaking several potentially nice (but wet) bones, I gave up and socialized.

Just a short note to say that the collecting season will commence with a "Friends of the Museum" weekend on March 6 & 7th. I'll be fortunate enough this season to be with those initial shock troops, camera-in-hand. The primary question should soon be answered — did the new material weather sufficiently? For those attending, good luck.

I was recently contacted by Curtis Ormond to confirm that there will be a spring collecting season. There will be no call-in in the traditional sense. Curtis will be accepting requests by e-mail, fax or snail mail only (no phone calls). All requests must arrive no later than January 31st.

He asked me to reiterate that, "steel toed protection is required and that no one will be allowed in with tennis shoes or shorts and without the proper steel toed protection."

I have received no information, as yet, concerning which collecting areas will be available.