My Bryozoa Collection From Aurora, Nc

[jahom15]

I thought I would share some of the bryozoans that i collected at the PCS Phosphate Mine in Aurora, NC.

[jahom15]

[jahom15]

[vertman]

Very cool stuff!

[Auspex]

We don't get to see a lot of these from there; thanks!

[jcbshark]

Great finds Jerome! Congrats

[minnbuckeye]

My interest is peaked every time I see a posting for Aurora since my brother lives 30 miles away and I hope to get to visit the mine , I mean my brother soon. Loved the bryozoans. Are they common there? Seems like people just don't want to show specimens other than shark teeth. What are the common fossils one finds at Aurora?

[jahom15]

Unfortunatly the mine is now closed for collecting. You can still collect at the spoil piles outside the fossil museum in Aurora. These specimens were collected in 1998 when I was fortunat enough to get to collect in the mine with Appalachian State University. I have to say I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of fossils everywhere. When you step out of the van and walk off the road you are now standing on a small piece of the very large mine. Clams, scallops and various gastropods seemed to be the most abundant. You couldn't walk without stepping on and breaking the shells. And to make matters worst I was limited to a 5 gal bucket of material to leave with (15 people in a 15 passenger van). It was near impossible to pick and choose what to fill my bucket up with. A large amount of invertebrates were available for collecting as well as teeth, vertebrae, and other vertebrate material. I am currently going through my Aurora collection for a display that I am putting up at our local gem and mineral show. I will start a new thread in the members collection that will have pics of the various material that I collected.