Eocene Shark Teeth, Craven County, NC

I'm lucky enough to live within close driving distance of more than a few of the Martin Marietta limestone quarries--which extract the Eocene Castle Hayne limestone for use as aggregate, rip-rap and cement--and I try to hit them every couple of weeks. It's a rare opportunity to go "hard rock" fossiling in eastern NC. The Castle Hayne Limestone subcrops in an area from Greenville eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, and southward into SC. Here are a few photos of my most recent 2 trips. I did well! Aside from the usual handfull of echinoids, I also managed a Eutrephoceras sp. nautiloid, and a healthy batch of shark teeth. All the teeth in the riker are likely Striatolamia macrota (the most common tooth by far). But I also managed, in the batch to the right in the first photo: a dozen or so Abdounia recticuna, 1 Ondontaspis winkleri, 1 Physogaleus secundus, 2 Hemipristis curvatus, a baby "rick", a healthy Isurus praecursor, and a couple of the nice Brachycarcharias lerichei (gotta love those cusps!).