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Coprolite, concretion, or scute?


Pterosaur

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Hi there! 
 

These two rocks were found in the Aguja Formation. Wondering if they could be coprolite, concretions, some kind of scutes (unlikely), or meteorites? Material from the Aguja formation is very foreign to me, so I’m at a loss! They are rounded at the top and flatter at the bottom. Found amongst very large dinosaur bones. 

 

Thanks very much!

Lauren

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"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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I'm not familiar with that formation. I'm not really getting a coprolite vibe. Does it fizz if you put a drop of vinegar on it? I saw something similar a while back. When I looked at them under a microscope it contained bits of bone, decapod bits and invertebrate coprolites. Looking at the one with the tan underside, it looks like there might be some inclusions. My best guess is a burrow of some kind. Do you have a microscope?

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 6/29/2020 at 7:36 PM, GeschWhat said:

I'm not familiar with that formation. I'm not really getting a coprolite vibe. Does it fizz if you put a drop of vinegar on it? I saw something similar a while back. When I looked at them under a microscope it contained bits of bone, decapod bits and invertebrate coprolites. Looking at the one with the tan underside, it looks like there might be some inclusions. My best guess is a burrow of some kind. Do you have a microscope?

 

 

 

I appreciate the information and the insight!

 

I do have my trusty phone microscope! It's pretty terrible, but it does magnify just enough to be useful. :)

The first images are of the rock's exterior surface (I know they are basically terrible). The last picture shows some white objects I noticed with my scope in a cracked/interior section of the rock.

 

Last thing, the rancher told me there are numerous rocks of the same kind spread out in a specific area on his ranch. The area is probably the size of a football field. The rocks are only in this specific area. Also on the ranch, he's found quite a few hadrosaur bones, theropod bones, and huge trunks of petrified wood. 

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

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"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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On 6/29/2020 at 11:07 PM, FossilizedJello said:

You know, I have no idea but ...could it be an egg?

 

It does have what looks like a dimply surface with little raised bumps similar to a hadrosaur egg I have in my collection (and dino eggs in general). However, I am very aware that it's quite a stretch.

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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You never said if it fizzes with vinegar (or if you did, I missed it). You could try the lick test (touch the light colored fractured surface to the tip of your tongue to see if it sticks. Carnivore coprolites can sometimes stick to your tongue (or wet fingers) depending on the fossilization process. Herbivore coprolites are calcareous (at least the ones I'm familiar with). I really don't know what to tell you. They are intriguing. I think you can rule out eggs. I don't see anything that specifically looks like inclusions, so I don't really think you have coprolites. That said, I haven't personally seen many herbivore coprolites. They are very rare. Those that I have seen were more flattened. You may want to take a look at THIS article. There is a colored photo of an herbivore coprolite. There is an associated paper written by Karen Chin, et al., entitled Consumption of crustaceans by megaherbivorous dinosaurs: dietary flexibility and dinosaur life history strategies, that goes into more detail. You may want to contact Karen Chin to see what she thinks, just in case they are coprolites. She is the foremost expert on dinosaur coprolites. The fact that they occur in a relatively small area in only one location could suggest a latrine area. 

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