Coastwatch 



COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Managing Editor 

 Katie Mosher 



Senior Editors 

 Ann Green 

 Pam Smith 



Contributing Editor 

 Cynthia Henderson 



Designer 

 L. Noble 



Circulation Manager 

 Sandra Harris 



The North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Program is a federal/state program that 

 promotes the wise use of our coastal and 

 marine resources through research, extension 

 and education. It joined the National Sea Grant 

 College Network in 1970 as an institutional 

 program. Six years later, it was designated a 

 Sea Grant College. Today, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant supports several research projects, 

 a 1 5-member extension program and a 

 communications staff. Ron Hodson is director. 

 The program is funded by the U.S. Department 

 of Commerce's National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration and the state 

 through the University of North Carolina. 

 Coastwatch (ISSN 1068-784X) 

 is published six times a year by the 

 North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 

 North Carolina State University, Box 8605. 

 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. 

 Telephone: 919/515-2454. Fax: 919/515-7095. 

 Subscriptions are $15. 

 E-mail: katie_mosher@ncsu.edu 



World Wide Web address: 

 http://www.ncsu.edu/seagrant 

 Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 



POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 



Coastwatch. North Carolina Sea Grant. 

 North Carolina State University. Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. 



Seal™ 



North Carolina 



View Ancient Crocodile Exhibit 

 at Natural Sciences Museum 



Mi 



in ions of years ago, a 40-foot crocodile — as large as a school bus and ferocious enough to 

 feed on dinosaurs — roamed the earth. 



Meet the ancient beast Sarcosuchus imperator at the "National Geographic Presents SuperCroc" 

 exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The 1 10 million- 

 year-old relative of today's crocodile will be on exhibit from March 1 5 to May 26. 



The exhibit includes a full-sized skeletal model of the prehistoric giant found in Niger, Africa, 

 fleshed-out models of the Cretaceous crocodile's head and neck, and skulls of modem crocodiles. 

 Video kiosks and interpretive panels depict the discovery and excavation of the fossil and offer a 

 glimpse into the prehistoric environment where SuperCroc lived. 



National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno unearthed SuperCroc in 2000 from the 

 parched sands of the Sahara Desert. Sereno's expedition found the Sarcosuchus skull, along with more 

 than 50 percent of its skeleton. 



Although it has achieved less notoriety, North Carolina had its own giant crocodile Deinosuchus, 

 which grew to 40 feet in length and lived 30 million years after Sarcosuchus. The giant croc probably 

 also preyed on carnivorous dinosaurs. 



National Geographic Channel's documentary, "SuperCroc," highlights Sereno's excavation of 

 the crocodile as well as modem crocodiles. For details, visit www.natiortalgeographk.com/supercroc/. 

 To find out more about the exhibit, go online to www.naturalsciences.org/. — A.G. 



Front cover photo of white ibises 



by Walker Golder. 

 Table of contents photo of a barge 

 by T. Edward Nickens. 

 Printed on recycled paper. © 



In the Next Issue of Coastwatch 



Ann Green visits Cedar Island to discover a welcoming community and a remote wildlife 

 refuge. Spring planting and fall harvest have new meaning when it comes to the Edenton 

 National Fish Hatchery, as Pam Smith learns. 



2 SPRING 2003 



