NCSM Vertebrate Paleontology Collection

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' Vertebrate Paleontology collections contains approximately 63,000 specimens. Founded in the early 1900s, this collection consists of approximately 89% North Carolina material, although 31 states, 21 countries, and more than 405 genera are represented. The Vertebrate Paleontology Collection contains eight holotypes and twelve paratypes. The type collections include several different fish and sharks and one bird specimen. The most published on specimens in this collection are an Acrocanthosaurus atokensis which has been used in numerous phylogenetic studies of therapods and a Thescelosaurus specimen. The significant holding includes Late Triassic collections from North Carolina and Arizona, marine Cenozoic collections from North Carolina, and Cretaceous collections from North Carolina, Montana and Utah.