The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' Invertebrate Paleontology Collection contains approximately 56,000+ specimens (11,000+ lots). Founded in the late 1800s, the collection consists of approximately 80% North Carolina material, although 40 states, 39 countries, and more than 1400 species are represented. The Invertebrate Paleontology Collection currently contains 17 holotype and 54 paratype specimens, a representative North Carolina and Southeast regional collection of Cenozoic and Mesozoic molluscan, echinoderm and crustacean fossils, along with a small but significant collection of Ediacaran body and trace fossils from south-central North Carolina. The Invertebrate Paleontology Collection houses individual specimens, slabs containing multiple specimens, microfossils, matrix samples, and all supporting legacy data.