Energetic ion (>28 keV) and electron (>22 keV) pitch angle distributions very close to (r≤2RN) and over the north planetary pole of Neptune are presented using data from the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) and Magnetometer (MAG) Experiments on the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The particle data are temporally structured and spectrally soft; a similarity with Earth-like auroral signatures has previously been noted. However, the pitch angle distributions (showing trapped distributions at high magnetic latitudes) do not support an Earth-like auroral interpretation, and alternative explanations for the temporal dynamics must be sought. Between r~1.6 and 2.0 RN and in the vicinity of the magnetic equator, the higher energy ion and electron pitch angle distributions (E≥80 keV) display dramatic ''bite-outs'' at ~90¿¿. This bite-out feature could be caused by interactions with the newly discovered ring 1989N3R. ¿The American Geophysical Union 1990