• December 19, 1998.
  • Aurora Fossil Fair I heard from Candace, and the 1999 Fossil Fair is scheduled for May 29 & 30th. In the on going effort to raise funds for the Museum, there will be an auction. Dr. Jay Goldberg from Virginia will be coordinating the event. It will probably be held on Saturday from 5 pm to 8pm.
  • Web Links A couple good news and museum items have come-up recently. ABCNEWS.COM had interesting pages on the Cretaceous Arctic and Early Flowers from China. The Yale-Peabody is exhibiting China’s Feathered Dinosaurs from February 12 to May 2, 1999. They will also be hosting an international symposium New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds. The American Museum of Natural History has a small but nice site on their Amber, Widow to the Past exhibit. Last, but not least, the NC Museum of Natural Sciences is announcing it's Acrocanthosaurus specimen and the Terror of the South exhibit which is scheduled for the Fall of 1999.

• December 1, 1998.
  • Weekend 13 (continued) -- "A bucket-'o-fossils" A couple more visitors dropped me notes, each of which deserves mention.

    Kathy Haberny wrote, "Yes, it was great! I have never been into the mine with free run of the place before... Becky's tooth was huge, and I saw another nearly the same size, with the root broken..." She noted seeing a Squalodon molar (beautiful) & premolar, and that her husband, Tom, "found a Notorhynchus and Hexanchus lower, fish skull cast, whale tooth, lots of nice Isurus teeth & tons of the usual fish bones and small teeth." Her own results included: "a 2-1/4" perfect Yorktown meg, 2" Pungo meg, Alopias, porpoise teeth and other material too numerous to mention -- a real bucket-'o-fossils this time."

    Frank Francino added that on his third trip to the site, he "found it to be a very productive day and not as gloomy as you indicated." His "gem" was a faultless meg tooth (orange-brown crown with a white root), but he also found a perfect 3" black meg, a sharpnose (Rhizoprionodon) tooth and a number of makos (including a 2-1/4" I. oxyrinchus). Working a Pungo exposure, he uncovered 7 associated porpoise vertebrae. He recollected that riding out on the early bus, one "gentleman ... had a very large Parotodus in perfect condition". Frank closed, "as you can see, I left a happy camper and ready to come back next season".

• November 28, 1998.
  • Weekend 13 -- The last hurrah! I usually paraphrase reports for the Lee Creek News, but Rita McDaniels's season wrap-up was just too good.

    She wrote, "I can't remember ever hunting in just a tee shirt and still getting yucky-sweaty on the last trip into the mine! The weather was PERFECT and collecting, excellent! Again, I didn't see nearly as many of the finds as I'd have liked to - I missed a good portion of the show-n-tell that takes place in the parking lot.... Still, Eric Thompson had great success in the Pungo. His cache included Hexanchus and Notorhynchus lowers and a large Squatina. Becky Hyne found the largest meg that I saw - a center tooth that looked to be at least 5-1/2 inches. Debbie Burdette got a nice one out of the Pungo as well; although only about 2-1/2", it was picture perfect. Ken Young had a gorgeous seal molar. I found a couple of Notorhynchus lowers, a small 2" meg in mint condition and a horse astragulus from the James City shell beds. This is the first one I've every collected at Lee Creek!"

    "Good-byes were said and holiday wishes exchanged as we bid farewell to each other. And before the suntan even starts to fade, thoughts were already turning to the Spring season. May it be as good as the one we just wrapped up!!! "

• November 22, 1998.
  • Weekend 12 -- Pleasant Surprises For the Believer . Well, for the fortunate few who'd been unfortunate enough to have Thanksgiving weekend as their fall trip date, the god's have smiled on you. No, there wasn't six inches of rain, but new tailings have been made available. For those that got a taste of it this weekend, it was a gourmet experience. Rita McDaniel wrote in with the news.

    She pointed out that Melissa did particularly well, finding "a piece of porpoise jaw bone with 8 or 10 teeth in it. Part of the jawbone was covered by matrix hence the uncertainty. She also had a whopper of a C. carcharias. Looked to be close to 3" and coal black." She went on to note that she'd found "a lovely 3-1/4" meg and a jumbo hemi (2" on slant) plus a nice selection of bones. Pat Young had a perfect porpoise atlas vertebra with exquisite detail. Romona Krailler found a large meg, but I didn't get a close look at it, best guess a solid 5 inches. Tom Parks found a really neat pathological I. hastalis about 2-1/2 inches that was a knockout! . . . the possibilities were endless and everyone should of found something outstanding."

  • There were a couple good news items over the last few weeks. From ABCNEWS.COM, they included: Dinosaur Embryos with Skin Impressions, Cretaceous Parrots from Wyoming, and Suchomimus tenerensis, a Fish Eating T. rex?

• November 13, 1998.
  • Weekend 11, The Drought Continues [so much for high expectations] . When a mid-week storm pounded the East Coast, I felt certain that the paleo-gods were smiling on my second trip to the mine this fall season -- wrong! The force field, which protects Aurora from rain, held admirably. However, there is a first-hand report this week.

    About ten no-shows missed nearly ideal collecting weather. Long-sleeved shirts were needed, but that was it; the day was mild without wind or strong sun (minimal water & no sun screen). Collectors spread out, with the new area getting most of the attention. Those 'interesting' finds that were made, were mostly the results of close inspection of well-collected exposures. The largest tooth went to John Paschal who found a 4 or 5-inch black meg. (He noted that the final count for his associated Squatina dentition was 88 teeth.) The Pungo yielded some nice bird material, (including a coracoid (Andy Abdul), a partial tarsometatarsus and a carpometacarpus). For those collecting in the new area, most teeth were small and of Pungo origin, although quite a few cow shark and whale teeth departed. Overlooked by most, the old area has evidently been weathering by wind alone. John Everette spent the day wandering this Aurora Deserta and was well rewarded with three smaller Carcharocles, numerous makos, and a host of other specimens.

    Talk about being one-upped, Andy Slate comes out with a very special gift from the gods, a portion of seal jaw with two or three teeth. No sooner did a crowd gather when his better half (at least that's what THEY call themselves) asked, "can anybody identify this?" - Louise was holding what is very likely (85% confidence) to be a Pungo River Megamouth!

    With two weeks left, I certainly hope some trip will benefit from rain. Without it, following John's lead (placing one's trust in wind erosion) might be the best strategy.

• November 3, 1998.
  • I've never found one, but I've read about mako teeth with lateral cusplets. Well, Daryl Serafin found one at Calvert Cliffs, There might not be full agreement on the species to ascribe it to, but it's a mako.
• November 1, 1998.
  • Weekend 9 - Six weeks of Drought. . Not in the least bit surprising has been the marginal collecting in recent weeks. It's been five or six weeks since the area's had rain, creating what Rita McDaniel refers to as a 'dust bowl'. These drought conditions proved beneficial to many of this past weekend's collectors - a former, long uncollected island (Pungo) became accessible. Becky, some French visitors and others did well foraging this virgin territory -- results included a 3-inch Carcharocles, a bunch of Notorynchus, a very large mako lower and many other items. Rita said it was a beautiful day for collecting, low-70s and sunny skies. Her highlights included an arthritic vertebra, bird bone, ray scute, and a number of whale and mako teeth. John Everette noted, that last weekend, Adair Poole found a large & gorgeous bramble tooth, according to Eric, the second best he had seen!

  • If you didn't see the news items on Triassic reptile nests from Arizona, try either ABCNEWS.COM or the University Colorado posting. In February, the Peabody Museum will be holding a symposium entitled "New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds". In conjunction with this event, the "China's Feathered Dinosaurs" exhibit will be on display through May. Lastly, for those who haven't visited it, Ian Fergusson's The Mediterranean Shark Site is very good and well worth a visit. A recent addition is new information that debunks the myth of a 7-meter C. carcharias.

• October 20, 1998.
  • Weekend 7. After four collecting dates without rain, I held out little optimism for this past weekend. Therefore, I was please to hear from Kathy Haberny that good items could still be found if enough effort was expended.

    The Calvert Marine Museum Fossil Club spent Saturday at Lee Creek. Kathy reported that the largest shark teeth found were makos (to 2-1/2"), and those megs recovered were small (2-inch class) and scarce. Collectors were working closer to the surface, so it isn't surprising that a bramble tooth was found as well as some from Notorynchus & Hexanchus. Kathy remarked that a particularly nice bird cervical vertebra was found as well as a pathological Carcharhinus (split crown), whale (including Squalodon) & seal teeth, an associated porpoise tympanic bulla and periotic, and the usual array of small shark teeth and fish material.

    In the end, the collecting was poor as characterized by the number of people on the early bus. Rumor has it, that Greenville has been producing well, serving as a magnet for those disappointed by Lee Creek.

• October 14, 1998. -- North Carolina Fossil Club Fossil Fair

  Saturday, November 7, 1998 -- 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
  Hosted by the Onslow County Museum
  301 S. Wilmington St., Richlands, NC 28574, phone: 910 324-5008

• October 12, 1998.
  • Weekend 6 -- It's Still Producing?. Can't say as my mailbox has been filled with feedback on Lee Creek collecting. I'd started to assume that the new area had dried up quickly, when I received word from Joanne Panek-DuBrock on last weekend's visit by the N. C. Museum.

    She indicated that collecting went very well for her. A near-perfect 4-1/8 inch Pungo meg topped her list which included "a pigmy sperm whale earbone with the little bone intact, an enormous tiger shark tooth, ... cow shark lowers and 1 upper", many fish jaws with teeth and more. She'd seen little of other people's finds, but remebered a Notorynchus in matrix and a number of large Hemipristis teeth.

  • And for interesting reading, there is the Zuniceratops - Dino fossil topples theories article and a few more links from ABCNEWS.COM: Alaskan Dinosaur Trackways, Ants in Cretaceous Amber and Bolivian Dinosaurs.
• October 7, 1998.

  Sat around for a couple days, but never heard about Week 5. Guess I'll just pass on a comment about Week 4, note some new items, provide a few interesting links, etc.

  Got a note from John Keklak confirming that it was his tooth (5 9/16") I was talking about. He noted that he had also found two Carcharodon carcharias teeth in the 2.5 inch range, a nice Squalodon canine, and a good mix of other teeth. The big meg that weekend with the broken tip was found by another DVPS member, Bob Gibbs. It would have gone a good 6 inches.

  Bill Heim has added a couple new pages - Carcharhinus plumbeus and C. falciformis. In addition, a new article, Have Ecosystem, Will Travel by Rick Martin is now available.

  Apollo Beach is Gone. I have recently been advised that the last workable shoreline at Apollo beach has been filled in with nearly 20 feet of limestone boulders -- may it rest in peace (until mother nature reasserts her dominance over the shoreline).

  For those who met Hideo Yabe during his visit last spring, you'll be pleased to know that he received his doctorate in September. Congratulations Dr. Yabe!

  Here are a few more links from ABCNEWS.COM: Smallest Mammal from Cretaceous stump, a 40 mybp Whale from Georgia, an item on PRI and Fossil Hunting, and below, Dinosaur Lips, an Early Baleen Whale and very Precambrian Trace Fossils.

• September 26, 1998.
  • Weekend 4 -- The New Area, Week 2. Well, at least I can provide a first hand account for a change.

    The second weekend in the new collecting area proved very good. This is probably the best testament to the quality of the first week - there had been no rain and we could only collect what had been overlooked! This led to a strange patchwork of productive areas. Fortunately for the second weekend collectors, the first weekenders were so busy picking up material, they'd forgotten to look for large teeth. Three 5-inch class Yorktown and a Pungo River megs were found. The best was a near perfect 5-1/2 incher found by one of the Keklaks (I can never remember who is who) of the DVPS. Another of that club's members, Tom McKeeman, found a near perfect Megachasma in the Yorktown. As seen last weekend, mako's, often large, were abundant -- Becky picked a beautiful 3 inch lower. Besides loads of shark teeth, mammal material was abundant. I saw a number of Squaladon teeth, Howie Cohn (NJPS) picked up sea cow ribs, and (large) whale vertebrae are still available for those willing to carry them out. Without rain, the new area will only yield fair results next weekend. As for the old area, I spent a short time accessing it's condition -- very poor, definitely needs rain.

    One last note. Until a new access point is available, it's a pretty long walk to the new area, be prepared. On a weekend such as the last (windless, blue skies and high temperatures), plenty of water must be carried in.

  • Correction. In last week's news, I misidentified Eric Woody, my apologies. He wrote in to note this error and included a better list of his results. The quality and diversity of his finds is worth noting: 5-1/4" megalodon, barracuda jaw, porpoise jaw, another fish jaw, 4 whale teeth, two large ray dermal denticles, 7 whale vertebrae, hexanchus & notorynchus lowers, a billfish rostrum, several mako's and more.

• September 23, 1998.
  • The New Area Kim Greene wrote in to confirm John's observations. "Yes, it's true. The new site is wonderful. Several people brought out large megs, sometimes more than one to a customer! There were also several chubutensis' found, plenty of large (2"+) Isurus teeth and I saw at least one Parotodus. I was happy to bring home a 3-1/2" meg with slight bite damage, a 2-1/2" chubutensis, a 4" section of dolphin jaw, a complete dolphin humerus, two whale phalanges, and lots of large tigers, makos, Hemipristis and other more common teeth. My prize for the day was a beautiful section of Tautog jaw with six grey/blue teeth intact and one tan tooth loose on top of it. The collecting area is at least as large as the old area."

• September 20, 1998.
  • Weekend 3 -- The Dawn of a New Era To a lucky group of 50-or-so collectors, the last collecting day of the summer of '98, will hold fond memories - the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the long awaited "new collecting area". I guess everyone was tied-up admiring their take, 'cause I had to wait a couple days before receiving a report. However, John Everette did have words on the weekend's results and the new area -- he started out by saying, "Very Goooooooood!"

    John did very well with 5 or so megs (largest a 4-1/4-incher), a bunch nice makos & tigers, seal & bird material, a complete, 1-1/4" Arbacia test,and more. He noted that Eric Woody found a perfect 5-1/4 " megalodon lateral and a section of barracuda jaw with about eight teeth.

    He described the new area as having good hills and excellent Yorktown and Pungo River exposures. The enlarged collecting area should take pressure off the "old" area which is still available and with time to rest, may produce well again. I'll finally get a look next weekend.

Spring 1998

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