NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



Explorative 

 Learniri' 

 in Geologic 

 Tune 



By Lilly Loughner • Photos by Scott Taylor 



F 



ire 



ire ants. Quicksand. Black snakes. Rugged terrain. Dehydration. 

 A bit of danger and fossil hunting wraps up a week-long National Marine 

 Educators Association (NMEA) conference in Wilmington. The field trips 

 share North Carolina's treasures — and offer a special farewell touch to 

 bring the conference into perspective. 



"What dangers might we expect out there?" is among many questions 

 regarding the field trip to the Castle Hayne Quarry — one of several quar- 

 ries in eastern North Carolina owned by Martin Marietta Materials. But this 

 is the question that hushes the thrill seekers' bubbling anticipation of the 

 fossil hunting to come. 



In Preparation 



The group huddles around fossil expert John Timmerman as he 

 reveals examples of common fossils that will be found — and more impor- 

 tantly, the rare ones that they will be lucky to find. Eager as children, they 

 lean faces toward the display case. Excitement rises as the fossils are passed 

 from hand to hand. 



The educators hail from North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, 

 New York, Ohio and farther. "I think to dig fossils in North Carolina is a 

 unique experience," says Jim Palmer, a businessman and retired teacher 

 from Arizona. "It's famous for its fossils and fossil sharks' teeth particu- 

 larly," as well as its variety of fossils. 



Timmerman assures the group that findings of predominately 

 echinoids, bryozoans and brachiopods from the Eocene Epoch will be 

 common. Echinoids are commonly referred to as sea urchins, sea biscuits 

 and sand dollars; brachiopods, as lamp shells; and bryozoans, as "moss 

 animals" — living mostly in colonies of interconnected individuals. 



CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • A chambered nautilus is unearthed in a rare 

 condition — lacking its outer shell casing. • Sand dollars are found in abundance in the 

 Castle Hayne Quarry. • The first and only shark's tooth found during the trip. • The 

 origins of this mystery tooth excites field trip experts. Could it be from a Pleistocene bear? 



26 WINTER 2004 



