Periarchus sp.

Periarchus sp.
Castle Hayne Formation
Late Eocene (41-33 Ma)

Holden Beach, Brunswick County, North Carolina, USA

Self collected in September 2023

A highly unexpected but exciting find, I came across this chunk of Castle Hayne material while searching the beach for Cretaceous Hardouinia mortonis specimens. The tide and surf was particularly strong due to an offshore tropical cyclone, which made it difficult to find the Cretaceous echinoids, but was bringing in large stones and other things. As best as I can recall, this is the first Castle Hayne formation material I've seen on Holden Beach.

The chunk is fairly hefty, and is at least 30.5 cm (12 inches) long. There are a number of Periarchus fragments in the material, and there is one other visible specimen that is only missing about ten percent of the test. I am unsure of the species due to the periproct being obscured. I have little doubt that there are probably more specimens in the center of the material. The chunk also has numerous bryzoan fossils.