US DOLLAR
EURO
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
CANADIAN DOLLAR
POUND STERLING
Product Description
ITEM #
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WH022
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ID
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odontocete
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FOUND
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Pungo River Formation, Lee Creek -
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AGE
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MIOCENE / PLIOCENE: 22 - 4.5 million years
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SIZE
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6.5" across x 5.25" high x 5" deep
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CONDITION
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NO REPAIR OR RESTORATION
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NOTE
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RARE THIS COMPLETE FROM
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INCLUDES STAND - Actual Item - One Only
Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet |
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This is a well-preserved, giant fossil whale thoracic vertebra from a prehistoric whale from the Miocene/ Pliocene Period. Lee Creek fossils carry their own cult following, mainly for shark teeth but a vertebra like this is every bit as rare from this formation as finding a large Megalodon tooth there. Deposits and mine operations today are no where near what they used to be and the site has been not producing the fossils it once used to as well as public is not granted the access they did in the past, making this a highly desirable specimen that will become even more rare as time goes on.
Well-preserved fossil whale vertebrae are rare due to the fact that most were preyed upon by large sharks such as Megalodon and scavenged by smaller meat-eaters when they died in prehistory. Furthermore, the porous nature of the bones makes them more susceptible to decomposition and disintegration over time, rather than fossilization. Prehistoric whale bone fossils are most often found incomplete and fragmented, at best. Large fossil whale vertebrae like this example are not common and are seldom found with such nice surface detail, a complete, intact centrum without the typical saltwater and marine life erosion and destruction. Color is incredible and white with bone surfaces that are as perfect as they can be. The face of one centrum has erosion but the other centrum is perfect. This fossil is perfect to display alongside a Megalodon shark tooth collection as this creature would have shared the same waters and served as the main food source for the largest and most dangerous shark that ever lived, the Megalodon shark. Intact with NO REPAIR and NO RESTORATION.
On the south shore of the Pamlico river in North Carolina near the Outer Banks lies an open pit phosphate mine still in operation. This mine produces some of the finest fossils (Miocene to Pleistocene) in the world and the region is known as "Lee Creek" by most. There are four recognized formations each with its respective representation of an epoch in time. They are in order of oldest first, PUNGO RIVER (Lower Miocene), YORKTOWN (Early Pliocene), CHOWAN RIVER (Late Pliocene), and JAMES CITY (Pleistocene). It is currently believed that the Pungo River layer once existed as a sub-tropical marine environment. The lowest strata of this formation is theorized to have been under 100 - 200 meters of water when covered by a prehistoric ocean with the uppermost layer having existed at a depth of 70 meters under water. The Yorktown layer is believed to have been under 80 - 100 meters at its lowest strata with a gradual decrease in the ocean depth to a point where the water was as shallow as 15 meters at the last time period of that formation's existence.
Approximately 50 species of sharks alone are found in the Lee Creek mine. Other fossils exist representing skates, rays, bony fishes, mammals (mainly marine), reptiles (turtles) and a host of marine invertebrates. Lee Creek is a world-class site for some of the finest shark fossils. Specimens from this unique site are coveted by collectors the world over.