Solenastria cf bella (Conrad, 1841) Lower Pleistocene scleractinian coral from the James City Formation, Lee Creek Mine, Aurora NC - hand/display specimen This plate of small showy

This plate of small showy butterflies is particularly well preserved

Green grains are olivine

It is mined commercially for use as an insulator in transformers and electrical equipment

Diagenesis refers to the conversion of sediments into sedimentary rock

the greenish sand is composed of grains of olivine that weather out of the basalt of an old cinder cone

Solenastria cf bella (Conrad, 1841) Lower Pleistocene scleractinian coral from the James City Formation, Lee Creek Mine, Aurora NC - hand/display specimen This plate of small showySolenastria cf bella (Conrad, 1841) Lower Pleistocene James City Formation Taxonomy of the scleractinian (stony) corals is difficult, and an "eye" identification can only take you close. These appear to be close to Solanastria bella Conrad. Correct identification depends on structural ornament in the sub millimeter domain. These were collected from spoil piles at the Lee Creek Mine, on the Pamlico River near Aurora, Beaufort County, North Carolina.