GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Hi all, I just got back from a fantastic dig near Marmarth, ND. I was in coprolite heaven! I am wondering if anyone has any clues about the round inclusion in the first photo. It is phosphatic. I thought it was particularly interesting because I rarely see inclusions in this type of coprolite. I am also including photos of some of the more interesting coprolites I found along with a really cool ichnofossil found by another member of our group. What is interesting about this one is that it is furrowed on both the rounded and concave ends. 2 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Found all these coprolite fragments coming down a wash on the side of a butte. I couldn't find the source, so I assume the entire dropping eroded out. 1 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 I was really excited to see the two largest as well as some smaller fragments contained visible bone inclusions. 1 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Nice! (for what it is.) Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Nothing too exciting about these. I just thought I'd post them because they are usually not recognized as coprolites. In fact, the first time I found a cluster of these, the paleontologist identified them as concretions. It wasn't until a year later, when I found one that was more poop-shaped, that I was told by coprolite experts that they did have a fecal origin. Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Nothing too incredible about this one other that it was intact and pretty good sized. Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Lastly, I thought I'd throw in a photo of the more typical coprolites found. Since the coprolites themselves were less than spectacular, Old Rex stepped in to add a touch of flair. He is sporting a sporting an unimpressive croc vert between his teeth and three broken droppings beneath his tail. 11 minutes ago, ynot said: Nice! (for what it is.) ...for what it is? Ha! Poop IS the best! Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Lastly a really cool ichnofossil. It was found by a fellow digger. It looks to be a cast of a small branch showing feeding traces from some sort of invertebrate (possibly a bark beetle). It was found in ironstone along with metasequoia cones and turtle bits. Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Lori, do you think there's any chance it could be a charophyte as in that thread of mine. I am not sure how to attach a link... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 That's some nice droppings, the little T. rex make sure the feces a little bit funnier “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Cool post and pics, Lori! Thanks for taking us along with you. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 2 hours ago, old bones said: Lori, do you think there's any chance it could be a charophyte as in that thread of mine. I am not sure how to attach a link... Actually, that was my first thought when I saw the fine ridges on the one side. I originally dismissed the notion because the inclusion appears to be phosphatic. I'm not familiar enough with charophytes to know how they fossilized. There was no other undigested material, so I assume the critter had a pretty acidic digestive system. I know in the case of modern crocodilians, they pretty much completely digest everything but hair and feathers. In coprolites, these present as voids. That said, (assuming it is a charophyte or some other sort of seed), if the wall of the charophyte/seed was digested slower than it's interior it could potentially have left a void. Then when the coprolite was fracture a cast was exposed. My question to the forum is can charophytes get that big? Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Is there any chance a plain old rock got ingested during feeding. They probably didn't have table cloths Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 13 hours ago, Rockwood said: Is there any chance a plain old rock got ingested during feeding. They probably didn't have table cloths Yeah...that is somewhat common. However, this one is comprised of the same phosphatic material as the coprolite...with just a hint of ridge lines on one side. 1 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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