(Note: As always, click image for better versions – these are heavily compressed)
Emerald Isle, NC
Last weekend we had a short but nice going away get-away with some friends (psychology graduate students, a parole officer, and a lawyer/rockstar) in Emerald Isle, North Carolina.
My dorky goal was to find more fossilized shark teeth (see previous awesome finds here), in addition to the obvious general goal of having a salty time.
Unfortunately, a storm kept most of the cool ocean debris from washing ashore until Sunday morning. Nevertheless, I found quite a few interesting things.
First off: fossil shark teeth!
The Haul:
Skate Egg Case:
Unknown wicked fish jaw:
Shell Fossils in matrix:
A cool fossil of what I think is a bryozoan.
I found a nice piece of fossilized bone. Of what? Who knows? Probably whale or dolphin. Or perhaps mermaid.
I also found several chunks of what I believe is either anthracite coal, or the next metamorphic step – graphite (I’m no geologist – thoughts?). It’s very light weight, very hard, and very faceted – which doesn’t come across very well in still shots:
One of the coolest things I found is a relation to organisms I will soon be working with in my new lab: starfish!!
I found two of these, both beautifully colored and still alive. They were washed ashore by the storm, so I tossed em back. I have no idea the likelihood of their survival, but I can say they didn’t wash back ashore over the next two days. (I’m awaiting the expertise of Christopher Mah of the Echinoblog for species identification).
Update: it’s a Royal Sea Star, Astropecten articulatus. Quoth the EchinoMaster: “Basically..they are your stereotypical “sand star” predatory on infaunal bivalves and pretty common on sandy-muddy bottoms of the Northeast US. Attractively colored animals to be sure!” Thanks Chris!
We also got to hit the NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. It’s a pretty rad place, so I was way more interested in pointing my eyes at all the ocean wonders, rather than pointing a camera. But I did get this cool shot of a gator.
Ooh – and apparently someone else took a shot of us there – me and John playing with the rays (the ray touch tank was by far the coolest part!).
Topsail Island, NC
A month ago, we also had the opportunity to hit Topsail Island, NC.
Fun was had. Things were seen.
Shark Teeth (Yes – I showed these before).
Mole Crabs (Emerita sp.)
Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.)
And that’s it – images are all I have for you at the moment. Enjoy.
I swear, I will have slightly more posts once I get moved to Pittsburgh and settled.
And just because I never show her (she’s camera shy), I’m sneaking in this shot of my wife:

























As always, your finds make me incredibly jealous. Of course, when I muster up some finances, I’m going to go island hopping, complete with amazing photos, just to get back at you.
So what does a mermaid keep in her purse?
A: s????s ???
Her skates
Happened to come across your pictures! Love them! I live at Topsail Beach and enjoy fossil hunting as well- what a satisfying hobby!
Nice collection. I’ve found that in some places the fossils are much easier to find than in others. I was down in Key West last year, and the gravel they use in the parking lots is entirely made up of coral fossils.