List of the Cenozoic life of North Carolina

This list of the Cenozoic life of North Carolina contains the various prehistoric life-forms whose fossilized remains have been reported from within the US state of North Carolina and are between 66 million and 10,000 years of age.

Living Abies , or fir trees
A living Actinocyclus sea slug
A living Aetobatus eagle ray
A living Alca , or razorbill
A living Aluterus filefish
Shell in multiple views of an Anadara brasiliana , or incongruous ark clam
A living Spatula clypeata , or northern shoveler
A living Anisotremus grunt
A living Apalone softshell turtle
Shells of Arcinella jewel box clams
Shell of a modern Astarte bivalve
Fossilized skull of the Miocene dolphin Atocetus
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Pliocene whale Balaenula
Life restoration of the Pliocene toothed whale Bohaskaia
Restoration of two of the Miocene-Pliocene bone-crushing dog genus Borophagus preying on a camel . Jay Matternes (1964).
Shell in multiple views of a Busycon contrarium whelk
Fossilized carapace of the Paleocene-Miocene crab Calappilia
A living Calonectris borealis , or Cory's shearwater
A living Carcharhinus falciformis , or silky shark
Fossilized tooth of the Miocene-Pliocene shark Cosmopolitodus hastalis , or broad-toothed mako
A living Carya , or hickory tree
Illustration of a living Ceratoscopelus lanternfish
Life restoration of the Miocene-Pliocene whale Cetotherium
Living Chelonibia acorn barnacles
Shells of the Pliocene scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius
Fossillized shell of a Chlamys bivalve
Living Ciconia storks
Multiple views of a fossilized shell of the Paleocene-Pliocene spindle sea snail Clavilithes
A Coelopleurus sea urchin
Fossilized shell of a Conus cone snail
A living Coscinodiscus diatom
Shell of a Cotonopsis lafresnayi , or well-ribbed dove sea snail
Shell in multiple views of a Crepidula fornicata , or common slipper shell sea snail
Life restoration of the Pliocene-Holocene elephant relative Cuvieronius
A living Cygnus columbianus , or tundra swan
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Eocene whale Cynthiacetus
A living Delphinapterus leucas , or beluga whale
Shell of a Dermomurex murex sea snail
Shells of Diodora keyhole limpets
Shell of a Distorsio sea snail
Fossil shell of the Cretaceous-modern marine venus clam Dosinia
Shell of an Echinocardium , or heart urchin
Illustration of a living Echinorhinus shark
Taxidermied male Ectopistes migratorius , or passenger pigeon
Interior of the shell of an Ensis leei , or Atlantic jackknife clam
Shell of an Epitonium wentletrap sea snail
A living Equetus punctatus , or spotted drum
A living Eudocimus ibis
Shell of a Euspira moon sea snail
A living Fasciolaria tulipa , or true tulip sea snail
A living Fratercula arctica , or Atlantic puffin
A living Galeocerdo cuvier , or tiger shark
A living Globicephala , or pilot whale
Fossilized shell of a Glycymeris , or bittersweet clam
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Miocene-Pleistocene elephant relative Gomphotherium
Texas City Dike, Texas
A living Haematopus palliatus , or American oystercatcher
Fossilized lower jaw of the Miocene-Pleistocene llama relative Hemiauchenia
A living Heterodontus , or bullhead shark
A living Histrionicus histrionicus , or harlequin duck
A living Istiophorus platypterus , or Indo-Pacific sailfish
A living Juniperus virginiana , also known as red cedar or eastern juniper
Life restoration of the Oligocene-Miocene dolphin Kentriodon
Living Lagenorhynchus dolphins
A living Lepidochelys , or ridley sea turtle
The autumn foliage of a living Liquidambar , or sweetgum tree
Mounted skeleton of a Lophius americanus , or American anglerfish
Interior and exterior of a shell of a Macoma tellin
Restoration of a Mammut americanum , or American mastodon
A taxidermied Megachasma pelagios , or megamouth shark
Illustration of a living Melanogrammus aeglefinus , or haddock
Collection of Mercenaria mercenaria , also known as hard clams or quahogs
Illustration on a stamp of a living Mesoplodon , or mesoplodont whale
Illustration of a living Microgadus tomcod
A living Monodon monoceros , or narwhal
Two living Myliobatis eagle rays
Partial fossilized mandible of the Miocene-Pliocene horse Nannippus
A living Nassarius , or nassa mud snail
Life restoration of a herd of Neohipparion . Robert Bruce Horsfall (1913).
Flower of a living Nymphaea
A living Odontaspis ferox , or smalltooth sand tiger
Shell in multiple views of an Oliva sayana , or lettered olive sea snail
Life restoration of the Miocene sperm whale Orycterocetus
At the top of the picture is a line representing twenty meters. Below this is a gray megalodon silhouette that measures twenty meters, below is a red megalodon silhouette that measures fifteen meters, below is a violet whale shark silhouette that measures ten meters, below is a green great white shark that measures five meters. Standing next to this shark is a black human silhouette that stands two meters.
Diagram illustrating the largest (grey) and most conservative (red) size estimates of the Miocene-Pliocene shark Carcharocles megalodon (sometimes Carcharodon or Otodus megalodon ) with a whale shark (violet), great white shark (green), and anachronistic human (black) to scale
A living Pagrus sea bream
Fossilized teeth of the Eocene-Pleistocene shark Parotodus , or the false-toothed mako
Life restoration of the Oligocene-Pleistocene false-toothed bird Pelagornis
Shell of a Perotrochus slit sea snail
Two Phoenicopterus , or flamingos
Restoration of Pinguinus alfrednewtoni
Fossilized vertebra of the Miocene-Pleistocene baleen whale Plesiocetus
A living Podiceps auritus , or horned grebe
Living Pontederia pickerel weeds
A living Pristis sawfish
A living Procellaria aequinoctialis , or white-chinned petrel
Replica of a fossilized cranium of the Miocene horse Pseudhipparion
A living Pseudorca crassidens , or false killer whale
Illustration of a living Pterothrissus gissu , or Japanese gissu
A living Ardenna tenuirostris (formerly Puffinus tenuirostris ), or short-tailed shearwater
Illustration in multiple views of the shell of a Pyramidella pyram sea snail
A living Quercus , or oak tree
Fossilized carapace of the Paleogene-modern crab Ranina
A living Rhincodon , or whale shark
Restoration of the Miocene-Pliocene elephant relative Rhynchotherium
Fossilized teeth of the Neogene sperm whale Scaldicetus
A living Scoliodon , or spadenose shark
A living Semicassis helmet sea snail
Shell of the whelk sea snail Siphonalia
A living Somateria mollissima , or common eider
A living Sphyrna lewini , or scalloped hammerhead
Life restoration of the Oligocene-Miocene shark-toothed dolphin Squalodon
Illustration of a living Stenotomus chrysops , or scup
A living Thalasseus maximus , or royal tern
Shell of a Strioterebrum augur sea snail
A living Symphurus tonguefish
A living Tapirus , or tapir
Shell in multiple views of a Tenagodus sea snail
A living Kajikia albida , or white marlin
Fossilized skeleton of the Oligocene-Miocene gavial relative Thecachampsa
Exterior and interior of the shell of a Trachycardium isocardia , or West Indian prickly cockle
Shell of a Trigonostoma nutmeg sea snail
Shell of a Tucetona bittersweet clam
Fossilized shells of the Late Jurassic-modern tower snail Turritella
A living Tursiops , or bottlenose dolphin
A living Urosalpinx sea snail, or oyster drill
Leaves and fruit of a living Viburnum .
Fossilized skeleton of the Miocene whale Xiphiacetus
Illustration of the shell of a Yoldia limatula , or file yoldia
Illustration of a living Ziphius cavirostris , or Cuvier's beaked whale