Editing Marlboro Township, New Jersey (section)

===Fossil collecting===
Open to the public, Big Brook transects the border of Colts Neck and Marlboro, New Jersey. The stream cuts through sediments that were deposited during the [[Late Cretaceous]] period. Reportedly, prolific finds of fossils, such as shark teeth, and other deposits of [[Cretaceous]] marine fossils, including [[Belemnitida|belemnites]] are frequently found.<ref>Yoost, Derek. [http://www.njfossils.net/cover.html Big Brook Identification Page], Njfossils.net. Accessed July 16, 2015.</ref> This is a particularly fossiliferous site, with finds including fish teeth, crab and crustacean claws, shark teeth, rarely dinosaur teeth, dinosaur bone fragments (and on a very rare occasion a complete bone), megalodonyx (prehistoric sloth) teeth and bone fragments.<ref>[http://www.fossilsites.com/STATES/NJ.HTM US And Canadian Fossil Sites -- Data for New Jersey] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415140618/http://www.fossilsites.com/STATES/NJ.HTM |date=2010-04-15 }}, Fossilsites.com. Accessed July 16, 2015.</ref> The area is regarded as one of the top three dinosaur fossil sites in the state. Multiple dinosaur finds have been found in this area.<ref>Morton, Rebecca. [https://www1.gmnews.com/2008/05/21/discovery-day-opens-window-on-prehistory/ "Discovery Day opens window on prehistory"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525214242/https://www1.gmnews.com/2008/05/21/discovery-day-opens-window-on-prehistory/ |date=May 25, 2022 }}, ''News Transcript'', May 21, 2008. Accessed January 20, 2018. "Creatures 80 million years old still remain in Marlboro, although most of them remain hidden to the naked eye. Residents were recently able to take a close look at the fossils of these extinct creatures, which are still being discovered around town. "</ref> In 2009, a leg section from a [[Hadrosaurid|duckbilled dinosaur]] called a [[hadrosaur]] was found.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/marlboro_dentist_finds_dinosau.html "Marlboro dentist finds dinosaur bone in stream"], [[NJ.com]], February 25, 2009. Accessed September 14, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.njfossils.net/new.html New Stuff that's being found In the Area!], Njfossils.net. Accessed June 12, 2015.</ref> The first dinosaur discovery in North America was made in 1858 in this area.<ref>[http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/ Big Brook, NJ], Fossilguy.com. Accessed June 12, 2015.</ref> Several bones from a [[Mastodon]] were found in 2009 by an individual fossil hunting.<ref>{{webarchive |date=Jul 25, 2011 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725021458/http://www.asnj.org/n-0109.pdf}}</ref> The deposits of marl which gave the township its name have played a major role in preserving the fossils found in the area.<ref>Hays, Constance L. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/02/nyregion/golden-oldies.html "Golden Oldies"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 2, 1997. Accessed August 11, 2014. "Much of the credit for New Jersey's dinosaur fossil finds goes to the vast deposits of marl around the state, Dr. Gallagher said. Marl, for which towns like Marlton and Marlboro are named, is a greenish sand that was prized by farmers for its fertilizing capability and now is sought after as a water softener."</ref> The fossil beds can be accessed from the bridge on Monmouth Road in Marlboro.<ref>[http://www.njesta.org/fossilsites.html Fossil Sites in New Jersey], New Jersey Earth Science Teachers Association. Accessed August 11, 2014.</ref>