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Showing results for tags 'coprolite'.
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Hello all....new to the forum. I have been roaming beaches for years and picking up random objects. Always a fan of the unique and interesting. I was on Holden beach in North Carolina recently doing the normal shark tooth hunt. I came across something I'm not familiar with. At first I was hoping it was a tooth...someone said super croc..except it really wasn't cylindrical enough. Then I moved to maybe a dino tooth of some sort based on the top. Well I have searched all I can, and my best guess is I may have come across a nice piece of coprolite. Thank you in advance for taking a look. I am amazed by all the knowledge here...
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I appreciate everyones help. I have been able to open a few more of the concretions I brought home. Several look to be clams maybe Mazonomya , One even has an internal mold? I would appreciate confirmation if that is what they are. One is very circular, I have no real idea, was thinking maybe coprolite because I can convince myself that the three shiny triangles at one edge could be fish scales-- but I am probably overreading what ever is actually there. I am even less sure if the last concretion actually has anything but a rough surface inside the concretion but wanted somebody else's opinion before I tossed it in the dud pile. Thank you for taking a look and offering your suggestions. Valerie
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Hi all, last week I found an interesting rock formation that appears to be cropolite. At least based on a few images I was able to compare it against online. The formation was found on an island beach off the west coast of Michigan. Thank you for any help identifying it!
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Wondering if this rock inherited is coprolite or just some kind of geode? IMG_1339.HEIC IMG_1340.HEIC
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Welcome to another microscopic look into the wonderful world of coprolites. Here we have a squished (flattened) spiral coprolite from the prehistoric floodplains that now form the Bull Canyon Formation in the badlands of Quay County, New Mexico. Today's mystery was most likely not ingested. Many times the posterior (non-pinched end) of spiral coprolites can be hollow. I may be wrong, but I think this branchy thing (for lack of a better term) slipped in after it was expelled. To me this looks like part of a branch from a delicate coral - but the poop was in fresh water. Any ideas?
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Here's a drum fish tooth lodged in a curiously shaped piece of host matrix. Smooth, cylindrical with a potential spiral groove. What do y'all think? Grid lines are 1mm spaced.
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I want your opinions on this piece. I picked this up today, after knocking it a few times to make sure that it wasn't "fresh". The surface texture it really rough and funky. Very much like sandstone and not what I'm used to with fossils here, but the shape... come on, how can this NOT be what it looks like? Found at my 280MY Permian site. Whats your thoughts? Is it coprolite, a very grossly shaped natural rock, or should I go wash my hands some more?
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I bought this rock online auction site. it was sold as a Permian Coprolite with bones from Oklahoma. it is 2 cm long. The last 5 images are microscopic. what do you think?
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Rather than writing information about coprolite identification on multiple threads, I thought I would post information about coprolite identification here so it can be referenced in ID threads (I'm getting lazy, I know). I was also thinking it might be fun for others to post coprolites in their own collections so others can use them for comparison. So here we go: IDENTIFYING COPROLITES: Not all rocks that look like poop have a fecal origin. Here are a few things to consider when trying to make this determination: 1. Location, Location, Location – If you haven’t guessed, the first and most important thing to consider is the location your rock was found. Don’t expect to find a coprolite unless you find it in geologic area/layer where other fossils are found. If you find things like bones, teeth and fish scales, or prehistoric tracks, you may just be in in luck. 2. Shape – While fecal matter can be rather freeform when exposed to the elements or when digestion issues arise, most coprolites are shaped like poo. As with modern extrusions, fossilized feces can be shaped like pellets, spirals, scrolls, logs, piles, etc. Their shape is dependent on shape of their producers intestinal and anal structure. Look for things like compaction folds and pinch marks. 3. Texture - Most coprolites are fine grained. If your specimen appears granular under magnification, it is most likely not a coprolite. There are some exceptions, such as marine creatures that feed on bottom sediments or coral. That is why knowing the location and geology of the area where it was discovered is so important. 4. Inclusions – Many times, coprolites will have visible inclusions. Things like fish scales, bone fragments, and teeth may not get fully digested, and can be visible on the surface. Some animals ingest stones for ballast or digestive purposes. These are known as gastroliths, and if present, are generally smooth. 5. Composition – Because herbivore scat tends to break a part and decompose rapidly, it rarely survives the fossilization process. So most fossil poo that is found is from carnivores. The reason for this is that their poo is usually high in calcium phosphate, the same mineral found in our bones. This mineral can appear in many forms. It can be hard and dense or soft and porous. If the potential coprolite appears soft and porous, there is a quick test that is often used in the field. If you touch to stone to the tip of your tongue and it sticks, chances are, it is high in calcium phosphate and could be a coprolite. If you are not that brave, you can also touch it with wet fingers to see if it feels sticky, but this is not nearly as fun. If the calcium phosphate takes a harder, denser form the “lick test” won’t work. In some instances, chemical analysis is required to definitively identify the mineral composition. @Carl do you have anything you want to add?
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I found this sti king out of the dirt in pheonix, Arizona it never stays shiny but I put pictures of wet and dry. Is this coprolite? Thank you
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Hello A friend gave this to me...It was found in a garden on a property on the southern North Sea coast of The Netherlands... After reading a lot about coprolites, spiral fish coprolite mainly...led me to burrows...which in turn, led me to corals...I now suspect that it may be some sort of Horn coraI... It is 2" (5.5cm) long...the opening has a diameter of approx. 1" (2.5cm)...it is rounded on one side...flat on the other...from the texture and weight of 56 grams I am certain that it is completely stone... I am hoping that someone could confirm my thoughts and help with the age of it and the material that it is now made of... Thanks
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This opal is from Lightning Ridge, Australia. Could it be a coprolite Thanks!
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I could not resist the hilarious headline.....Enjoy! Bicknell, R.D.C., Smith, P.M., Kimmig, J. 2023 Novel Coprolitic Records from the Silurian (Přídolí) Wallace Shale of New South Wales. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology (ahead-of-print publication – in press) PDF LINK
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I was reading about the mass excavation of coprolites in the UK from the 1800s to WW2 and was wondering if there is any modern coprolite mining still going on there. I can't seem to find any so I'm guessing all the mines are closed and boarded up but just find it surprising that something that was once so common that it was ground up and turned into fertilizer on an industrial scale can now only be found in museums.
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From the album: Ozan Formation
Shark Coprolite, NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023 The classic spiral pattern of shark coprolites is apparent on this specimen. -
Cause it's always amusing looking at possible poo finds...I was wondering if this could be a coprolite? I always pick up the unusual while I'm out searching...and this is no different. I think it's poo only because of the end resembling a pinch point as described in the coprolite ID. It doesn't seem to have any inclusions. I don't know....maybe it was just a natural occurance and this is just a coincidence. I'll attach other images of some other possible coprolite that I questioned in other threads and it was usually unknown...but this is the only one I'm questioning here. Not having inclusions and seeming fine grained could be alligator right? Thanks for your thoughts.
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Found this digging in Peace River, central Florida. I wondered if it could be coprolite, but if it is I was wondering from what animal. Any information would be appreciated. Other finds from the same area included dugong bone, turtle shell, mammal teeth (bison, tapir, horse), armadillo scute, and lots of shark teeth.
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Good evening to all my paleo peers! Tonight I’d like to share with you a selection of some of my favorite fossils found this year. I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Montana over the summer, along with a few other fossil hunting opportunities here and there. As we hop into the New Year I'll kick things off aptly... Frog Radioulna-Judith River formation, Montana One of my all time best single fossil hunting days was spent in late June on a microsite in the Judith River badlands of northern Montana. Among the teeth of crocs, hadrosaurs and dromaeosaurs was this absolutely tiny limb bone. When reviewing my finds from this week I gathered up several of these micro bones and put them in a gem jar. I brought this minute group along with a small portion of my collection on my recent visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. While exploring their collections I met amphibian expert Amy Henrici, who recognized it as the distinctive fused lower arm bone from a frog, also known as a radioulna. Yesterday I was able to take clear, close up pictures of this tiny limb on my digital microscope and subsequently posted it as my fossil friday on instagram (same username). I was excited to learn about its identity as it’s the first example of a frog fossil in my collection that I’m aware of! This little guy would have likely been on the menu for a whole host of predators, including Dromaeosaurs and Troodontids. The recent discovery of Daurlong provides evidence of a predator prey relationship between these two groups.
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Hi there everyone. I would really appreciate your skills/opinions about if my little ''treasure'' is actually a coprolite or not. I have always believed it to be, just because it looks like a poo with something in it to me. I have forgotten where i found it, but most likely it was in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. It is ovalish in shape and appears to have a ''skin' wrapped around some sort of internal content. As I know zero about fossils, your time and expertise is gratefully appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from someone with excitement and thanks. Photos hopefully attached! Many cheers, Kazza
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Good afternoon! I am curious if anyone can tell me what this is? Found on Folly Beach in Charleston. Thanks!
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From the album: Eagle Ford Group
Vertebrate coprolites, Dallas Co. Cenomanian, Cretaceous Jan, 2023 Coprolites with articulated(?) bony fish inclusions. High quality vertebrate coprolites, bentonite layers, and tan/buff coloration are characteristic of the Turner Park Member of the Britton Formation of North Texas. -
Well we all know its not a giant dinosaur gamete fossil but I could not resist with the title or eyes in one photo. Best guess poopy is a coprolite but the extremely smooth surfaces and fact that its so strait make me wonder if this was fossilised when still in the intestinal chamber. The other option is that it is geologic in origin but the shape. Found in the toolebuc formation of central Queensland Australian - marine cretaceous formation. length of specimen 110 mm and 30 mm at widest point. There are also has striations visible in several sections and there are no inclusions
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Hi, picked this up at Aust today, only looked twice after seeing a video on icthyosaur coprolites found at charmouth. It has a lot of material in and the same pear shape, hard to identify anything expect for one possible shell.. Any help appreciated thanks. Happy new year!
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Picked this up a while back at Aust in Gloucetershire, UK. It was free but amongst chunks of the bone bed which are full of coprolites with a similar black completion, it also has a smaller piece of coprolite squashed into the side of it. What do you think, is that a big poo?? Found icthyosaur vertebrae very close by too.
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Hi people, I have a query regarding the contents of some siderite nodules from a Duckmantian fossil forest site in N Wales for my PhD project. I had thin sections made of parts of several nodules and they all seem to have an abundance of 'faecal pellets'; rounded, often curved (banana-ish) shaped, mostly stratified pellets. These pellets have been replaced by siderite (FeCO3) and sometimes include pyrite and seem to have been the locus for early sulphate reduction by bacteria before conditions arose for the siderite precipitation. I've attached SEM images of the thin sections showing some of these pellets. We have only found a couple of fragments of crustaceans (Euproops I believe) and the host sediments were fine sands and silts. All the images show individual pellets with scale bars but "pellet5" is a zoomed out image showing the abundance of the pellets. They are all replaced by an Fe-rich siderite and are all quartz free. "pellet6" is different with a mottled texture and some potential apatite mixed in. Let me know if anyone has seen similar textures before and/or what could have made them! The palaeoenvironment was purely freshwater with meandering river systems, with a dynamic lycopod dominated fossil forest ecosystem. pellet3.pdf pellet2.pdf pellet1.pdf pellet5.pdf pellet4.pdf
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