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Virginia coprolites poster presentation GSA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, USA - September 22, 2019


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I donated 20,000+ Eocene marine Virginia coprolites to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in 2015.  There have been several formal presentations given on these coprolites to date and a major paper is in final review. To see numerous coprolite pictures and read about/see previous presentations check out the below TFF link:

 

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/50059-what-ate-what/&

 

 

 

A copy of the latest poster presentation given on these Virginia coprolites at the GSA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on September 22, 2019 is below (If you click on the below picture which will open it in a new window and click on the + symbol twice, you can read the text):

 

 

 

5d92231e888ce_VirginiacoprolitesposterpresentationfinalGSAAnnualMeetinginPhoenixArizonaUSA-September222019.thumb.jpg.bc1d757b1f18d1ec130f7b8195ee730b.jpg

 

 

Marco Sr.

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"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

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Wonderful to see theses fossils getting published. Kudos for donating the material, science is better off for it!

“...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

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The job is incomplete until the paperwork is done! :default_rofl: Seriously though, well done. I thought we find a lot of coprolites in Mazon Creek nodules, but this takes the cake. 

 

 

Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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9 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

The job is incomplete until the paperwork is done! :default_rofl: Seriously though, well done. I thought we find a lot of coprolites in Mazon Creek nodules, but this takes the cake. 

 

This Eocene layer has an amazing number of well preserved coprolites.  I've collected another 25,000+ since I donated these in 2015.

 

Marco Sr.

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"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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1 minute ago, MarcoSr said:

 

This Eocene layer has an amazing number of well preserved coprolites.  I've collected another 25,000+ since I donated these in 2015.

 

Marco Sr.

Wow! I did check the link you provided and the detail is stunning -- so many vertebrae.

 

 

Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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1 hour ago, sharkdoctor said:

Congrats on the poster and pending paper. You set a great example with your faunal approach to collecting and donating. 

 

I prefer to collect a productive formation as much as possible to be able to get large numbers of specimens that allow statistical analysis and provide the ability to describe an entire fauna.

 

Marco Sr.

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"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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3 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

Wonderful to see theses fossils getting published. Kudos for donating the material, science is better off for it!

 

It's been a long time, over four years.  I'm really looking forward to the paper.

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 1

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Very nice! Congrats! :yay-smiley-1:

 

I bet @GeschWhat would enjoy this! 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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13 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

Very nice! Congrats! :yay-smiley-1:

 

I bet @GeschWhat would enjoy this! 

 

Thank you.  It took a very long time but I'm happy with the poster presentation and the paper in final peer review.

 

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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To make it easier to see the coprolite types and burrows and bite traces, I cut out the below pictures from the poster presentation:

 

5d949d2f4a927_GSAposterpresentationCylindricalcoprolites.jpg.8547e647afaeb13788f860f56bb31c40.jpg

 

5d949d30bc691_GSAposterpresentationFoldedcoprolites.jpg.fd65aac7cf0fdee59ebc53fef96a1ad4.jpg

 

5d949d3280935_GSAposterpresentationOvalcoprolites.jpg.8a3642a7aa01513ca6a785956ae4ecc9.jpg

 

5d949d371b72b_GSAposterpresentationSinuouscoprolites.jpg.5558015a35dbb139549409712038d0be.jpg

 

5d949d35edd42_GSAposterpresentationSegmentedcylindercoprolites.jpg.14f23042f436c60721875ab857c5af3a.jpg

 

5d949d34058b9_GSAposterpresentationScrollcoprolites.jpg.e68b73b691ab41077950702612f768cc.jpg

 

5d949ffab7f0e_GSAposterpresentationBurrowsandBiteTraces.thumb.jpg.844ad8497579baec3ca724c3429119a9.jpg

 

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 7

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Fantanstic @MarcoSr! This answers some questions I've had with regard to potential producers. Do you know if there will be any further study of those with bite traces? I can't wait to read the final paper. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your discovery with the world. :thumbsu:

 

Thanks for tagging me @FossilNerd :)

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2 hours ago, GeschWhat said:

Thanks for tagging me @FossilNerd :)

You are welcome! :dinothumb:

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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8 hours ago, GeschWhat said:

Any speculation on what "D" could be?

 

Lori

 

The circular pattern and the individual shapes of the inclusions remind me of invertebrate coprolites that you see lining burrows.  However these inclusions are really small (5 um scale bar).  There are a number of different coprolites in my donated specimens that have purely geologic inclusions and that probably is a more likely possibility.  Maybe @Carl has an opinion.

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 2

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Hi,

 

Congrats Marco !  The publication is the result of a long work. I like the fact that you’re taking part in these scientific discoveries by donating large-volume samples.

 

Coco

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8 hours ago, GeschWhat said:

Fantanstic @MarcoSr! This answers some questions I've had with regard to potential producers. Do you know if there will be any further study of those with bite traces? I can't wait to read the final paper. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your discovery with the world. :thumbsu:

 

Thanks for tagging me @FossilNerd :)

 

Lori

 

The lead author, Paula Dentzien-Dias, of this poster presentation and the paper in peer review has an interest in burrows and bite traces and has written previous papers on them.  She only looked at a 2,000 specimen sample of the 20,000+ coprolites that I've already donated.  I also have another 25,000+ coprolites that I'll donate at some point, so it is possible to see future presentations/papers on coprolite bite traces.  However, Paula is from Brazil and spent several months in New Mexico examining my coprolites at the NMMNH&S and I don't think that she wants to do that again.

 

Stephen Godfrey of the Calvert Marine Museum also has an interest in coprolite bite traces.  However, he is usually looking at much larger coprolite specimens than mine.  I could at some point donate the 25,000+ coprolites that I currently have to the CMM if he had an interest.  Stephen is currently having a number of coprolites scanned by a researcher in Italy.  My two friends that I collect with are also supplying to Stephen coprolites from the same sites as mine.  However, they are only giving him the larger ones that they find in their sieves.

 

Marco Sr.

 

  • I found this Informative 1

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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10 minutes ago, Coco said:

Hi,

 

Congrats Marco !  The publication is the result of a long work. I like the fact that you’re taking part in these scientific discoveries by donating large-volume samples.

 

Coco

 

Coco

 

Thank you.  I'm very lucky that I can find these coprolites in very large quantities.  The researchers have told me that they believe the 20,000+ coprolites that I've already donated to the NMMNH&S is the largest sample of marine coprolites from a single site/formation in any museum collection in the world.

 

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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14 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Lori

 

The circular pattern and the individual shapes of the inclusions remind me of invertebrate coprolites that you see lining burrows.  However these inclusions are really small (5 um scale bar).  There are a number of different coprolites in my donated specimens that have purely geologic inclusions and that probably is a more likely possibility.  Maybe @Carl has an opinion.

 

Marco Sr.

I was thinking the same thing, but like you said the size. However, there are awfully small parasitic worms. The way they are lined up would be odd for fecal pellets though. Was that in a thin section? I'm not familiar with the terminology used in the methods described. I wonder how a tapeworm or other segmented parasitic worm would fossilize. It would be really interesting to see a 3d scan of that one. Fascinating, whatever it is. 

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8 hours ago, GeschWhat said:

I was thinking the same thing, but like you said the size. However, there are awfully small parasitic worms. The way they are lined up would be odd for fecal pellets though. Was that in a thin section? I'm not familiar with the terminology used in the methods described. I wonder how a tapeworm or other segmented parasitic worm would fossilize. It would be really interesting to see a 3d scan of that one. Fascinating, whatever it is. 

 

Lori

 

I'm pretty sure the SEM image is a surface image.  I'm not aware of Dr. Dentzien-Dias taking any thin sections.

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 1

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Marco, just amazing stuff-congrats!! What a cool poster. Was just looking at the surface trace info on the morphotypes....

 

So how much space  does 25K coprolites now take up?....Are they now back in plastic buckets after all the prep or do you have them sorted? I'm chuckling but it reminds me of being asked to guess how many marbles/jelly beans are in the old large pickle jar at the hardware store...

 

Regards, Chris 

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3 hours ago, Plantguy said:

Marco, just amazing stuff-congrats!! What a cool poster. Was just looking at the surface trace info on the morphotypes....

 

So how much space  does 25K coprolites now take up?....Are they now back in plastic buckets after all the prep or do you have them sorted? I'm chuckling but it reminds me of being asked to guess how many marbles/jelly beans are in the old large pickle jar at the hardware store...

 

Regards, Chris 

 

Chris

 

The majority of these coprolites are really small, 1 to 10 mm.   Those that I currently have fit in four 10 cup Tupperware containers.  The only prep I do is cleaning them in my ultrasonic cleaners for around an hour.  That gets them pretty clean.  I don't try to sort them.  I could spend many months looking at them individually under magnification.  I just don't have the time so I let the experts look at them.  Paula spent over two months full time looking at the 2,000 specimens under magnification that she used for the poster presentation and the paper currently in peer review.

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 1

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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4 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Chris

 

The majority of these coprolites are really small, 1 to 10 mm.   Those that I currently have fit in four 10 cup Tupperware containers.  The only prep I do is cleaning them in my ultrasonic cleaners for around an hour.  That gets them pretty clean.  I don't try to sort them.  I could spend many months looking at them individually under magnification.  I just don't have the time so I let the experts look at them.  Paula spent over two months full time looking at the 2,000 specimens under magnification that she used for the poster presentation and the paper currently in peer review.

 

Marco Sr.

Thanks Marco...just fascinating... if you spend the time to really look its truly amazing what you dont see at first glance....

 

Regards, Chris 

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