Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Today I was looking at fossils that I have paid any real attention too in quite a while. I figured that I would try and organize some of them and I started moving containers and pulling out concretions that contained coprolites. The pieces that I was working with were larger pieces, and that is what this post will show. I have found coprolites in the Essex (Marine) and Braidwood (Fresh) biotas. Many collectors in the past would skip over coprolites, just like they did with Essexella asherea Jellyfish, but that is not me, I would pick them all up. Mazon Creek coprolites have been known to contain plant material, bone, fish scales, etc. Again, the following pictures will show some of the pieces in my collection and will not include smaller pieces or concretions that contain fecal pellets that are found associated with the leech, Coprinoscolex. @GeschWhat Lori, you might like this post. Here is a Spiral Coprolite and it should be long to a shark. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 WOW!!! Impressive collection. I'll bet Lori will be salivating when she sees your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 Just now, Ruger9a said: WOW!!! Impressive collection. I'll bet Lori will be salivating when she sees your post. Thanks- I have sent her some in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caverat Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Nimravis Thanks for posting! I have lots of "What the Blank is this!" specimens from Mazon Creek from the 60's to 80's and you've helped me identify some! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Very impressive collection. The spiral shark one is magnificent. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 9 minutes ago, Caverat said: Nimravis Thanks for posting! I have lots of "What the Blank is this!" specimens from Mazon Creek from the 60's to 80's and you've helped me identify some! Glad I could help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 6 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Very impressive collection. The spiral shark one is magnificent. Thanks Adam, I think I have a couple, but they are all over the place. As Robert De Niro said in the movie The Taxi Driver- "One of these days, I'm gonna get ORGANEZIZED". LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Very nice. I was surprised when I first heard people pass over Mazon Creek coprolites. I was quite happy to get some nice ones this summer and the remains of scales and the likes is always striking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Those spiral ones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Woah ... that is impressive. I am amazed that some of the coprolites have been associated with their creators. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caverat Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 (edited) Here are two apparently mis-identified coprolite specimens (I thought they were some type of a segmented arthropod!). The light blue grid is one inch. Edited December 13, 2020 by Caverat Forgot scale. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caverat Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 And changing the subject, but continuing on possible misidentifications, here is a specimen I believe to be a shark egg capsule, Palaeoxyris sp. The light blue grid is one inch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Caverat said: Here are two apparently mis-identified coprolite specimens (I thought they were some type of a segmented arthropod!). The light blue grid is one inch. The bottom piece looks spiraled, so I would say Shark coprolite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Caverat said: And changing the subject, but continuing on possible misidentifications, here is a specimen I believe to be a shark egg capsule, Palaeoxyris sp. The light blue grid is one inch. I’m not seeing Palaeoxyris with this piece. I can see how you think that from the shape, by I just think it is the way the concretion split. Others may have another opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caverat Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Thanks for your input! Any thoughts on the non-spiraled piece? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeannie55 Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 I, too, love a nice fossilized piece of coprolite. I have found animal bones in the chunks from Wyoming and recently I found a piece that had to have come from a very large fish. I am sure there are scales and what looks like small bones. How did you break the nodules so evenly? And how did you know what was inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 50 minutes ago, Caverat said: Thanks for your input! Any thoughts on the non-spiraled piece? Sorry- that is coprolite, if you had the other piece it would contain it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 36 minutes ago, jeannie55 said: I, too, love a nice fossilized piece of coprolite. I have found animal bones in the chunks from Wyoming and recently I found a piece that had to have come from a very large fish. I am sure there are scales and what looks like small bones. How did you break the nodules so evenly? And how did you know what was inside? Most of these pieces I found already opened by weathering or possibly open by another collector who discarded it because he or she did not want coprolite. As far as what was in it, I am not sure what you mean, but I will give it a shot- through experience and having opened tons of concretions you get to know what the fossil is. If you are asking what is inside the coprolite, I never really look into that, if I looked with a stereoscope I might be able to determine that, but I just never have. I hope that answers your question. Now Lori @GeschWhat is the coprolite expert and she does investigate what is inside coprolite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeannie55 Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 I meant how do you know what is inside the concretion? I find a lot of geodes and rarely open them. My grandchildren, on the other hand, spend a lot of time trying to pop them open without crushing the crystals. I find a lot of oval and round rocks that are probably concretions but never thought they could have anything inside so now I’m thinking I should either have them cup open or freeze and thaw them. I guess I’d hoped that there was something concrete (I couldn’t resist) to help identify those with fossils inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelivingdead531 Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Nice collection! Since you were able to determine one of them as coming from a shark, is it possible to know what kind of animal the others came from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 2 hours ago, jeannie55 said: meant how do you know what is inside the concretion? The area that these fossils are found were the site of old shaft and strip mines for coal. These concretions were found a couple feet above the coal seam and then the fossil collectors recovered them from the over burden. This is a very general explanation of how they were found and we are lucky that these concretions contain fossils. Unless you are in an area like I am, your concretions would not be the same and most likely not contain fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 2 hours ago, thelivingdead531 said: Nice collection! Since you were able to determine one of them as coming from a shark, is it possible to know what kind of animal the others came from? Spiral coprolites are usually agreed to have come from sharks, besides that, it would be anyone’s guess as to the animal(s) that made them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 That’s a might fine collection of poop! I have always enjoyed finding coprolites. I have a few strange ones including ones containing horseshoe crab and scorpion parts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 2 hours ago, thelivingdead531 said: Nice collection! Since you were able to determine one of them as coming from a shark, is it possible to know what kind of animal the others came from? There are coprolites containing lycopod brachts that likely are from arthropleura. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 1 minute ago, RCFossils said: There are coprolites containing lycopod brachts that likely are from arthropleura. Thanks Rob, I like collecting them, but never looked too closely at the pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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