Coprolite food chain or overactive imagination?
I have a coprolite that has me somewhat puzzled. It was found in a river in South Carolina and dates Miocene-Pliocene. I picked it up at the Tucson Gem Show because I thought it resembled some east coast coprolites with longitudinal striations/furrows/grooves that @MarcoSr posted a while back. Now that I've looked at it for a while and done a little prep work, I'm not so sure the grooves are sphincter related. There are intestinal muscle marks visible on one side, but they don't seem to match up
I just wanted to give you all an update. I checked with a local paleontologist, and he confirmed that the larger marks do look like feeding traces. I then contacted Stephen Godfrey at the Calvert Marine Museum. He had written an interesting article on a gar-bitten coprolite. He confirmed that the larger marks could be bite traces. I am thrilled to say this bad boy will soon be re-homed at the Calvert Marine Museum for further study.
NOW A LITTLE RANT:
Because this partic
