Green River Fossil coprolite and Plant to ID

[minnbuckeye]

Before I post my items for identification, let me first  thank Seth for allowing me to scrounge around in his fossil pit in Kemmerer, Wyoming.  The experience  was unbelievable and it must go on everyone's bucket list of places to visit. I was absolutely impressed with the operation as a whole, wonderful staff, easy ability to prep your finds at the quarry, and most important, excellent and abundant fossils. As I finish prepping my fish finds, I will produce a more involved topic in the "TRIP" category. But for now, any help with these items would be appreciated:

 

1. I was told this is palm wood. Anyway to put a more specific ID on these?

 

  

[minnbuckeye]

This was explained to me to be a crocodilian coprolite. Your thoughts? It was fragile and broke into a few pieces. The internal structure showed no evidence of what was being consumed. only a homogenous material

[minnbuckeye]

[Max-fossils]

Can't help with ID, but that palm wood piece is an incredible piece! That little bonus fish just makes it awesome! 

Btw, I would've just said wood for the first one; palm is already pretty specific.

 

Great finds!

[Rockwood]

More prediction than ID, but both sound right to me.

[minnbuckeye]

Thanks for the comments, Rockwood and Max-fossils. Palm is somewhat specific, but I was hoping someone would know the types that existed in the Green River Formation, allowing me to research a little more.

 

Was hoping GeschWhat would chime in on the coprolite, seeing she is our forum's expert on such finds. How do I alert her to my topic. I know it can be done "easily", but I can't figure it out

 

Mike.

[ynot]

28 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

How do I alert her to my topic. I know it can be done "easily", but I can't figure it out

@minnbuckeye

Type -

@ and then the member's name. You will get a drop down with a choice of members. click the appropriate name. It will come up highlighted. (when done right.)

@GeschWhat

[minnbuckeye]

Thanks ynot. So do I take it that you notified her this time?

@ynot

[ynot]

25 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

Thanks ynot. So do I take it that you notified her this time?

@ynot

Yes I did.

[JohnBrewer]

Looks like a croc coprolite to me, similar to one I have. As far as I'm aware you don't get inclusions I croc poo because of how they digest. I guess sting stomach acids? Lori or Carl will know I'm sure. 

[GeschWhat]

Yep, @JohnBrewer is absolutely correct. Crocodilians have extremely acidic digestive systems. Pretty much the only thing you find in modern croc feces is hair and feathers (provided creatures with hair or feathers were on the menu). Most of the coprolites found in the Green River Formation do not have inclusions. It is impossible to tell definitively whether or not yours is from a croc, but the shape and composition make it a good possibility. Here is an interesting paper written by Jesper Milan, et. al., which analyzed feces from extant crocodilians. He even found a correlation between the length of a croc and width of its feces. That is one mighty fine coprolite you found!

[minnbuckeye]

Great paper!! My stool, I mean the croc's stool measures 13cm by 5cm. Either calculation brings the crocodile's length to be about 9.8 feet. (I was hoping for 30 ft but am satisfied with my find anyways!) It now makes sense why the inside of this coprolite was homogenous. With all of the fish this critter should have been eating, I expected bones inside of it. Thanks @JohnBrewer and   @GeschWhat

 

 

[Shamalama]

Really cool finds there from Seth's quarry. Hope to see more trip report soon.

[minnbuckeye]

24 minutes ago, Shamalama said:

Really cool finds there from Seth's quarry. Hope to see more trip report soon.

 

It may be a little while. My nicer fish are requiring a little time to prep. I do not have the fancies equipment, but making progress!!