Coprolite

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For fossilized feces in archaeological contexts, see Paleofeces.
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A large coprolite of a carnivorous dinosaur found in Harding County, South Dakota, US. Photo courtesy of the Poozeum
A large Miocene coprolite from South Carolina, US.
Coprolites found on the Blahnita riverbed, Romania, showing a seed inclusion (right specimen)
A large coprolite from South Carolina, US.
Age: White River Oligocene; Location: Northwest Nebraska; Dimensions: Varies (25 mm X 20 mm); Weight: 8-10 g; Features: Many small inclusions and one has a complete toe bone from a small deer called a leptomeryx.

A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is derived from the Greek words κόπρος (kopros, meaning "dung") and λίθος (lithos, meaning "stone"). They were first described by William Buckland in 1829. Before this, they were known as "fossil fir cones" and "bezoar stones". They serve a valuable purpose in paleontology because they provide direct evidence of the predation and diet of extinct organisms.[1] Coprolites may range in size from a few millimetres to over 60 centimetres.

Coprolites, distinct from paleofeces, are fossilized animal dung. Like other fossils, coprolites have had much of their original composition replaced by mineral deposits such as silicates and calcium carbonates. Paleofeces, on the other hand, retain much of their original organic composition and can be reconstituted to determine their original chemical properties, though in practice the term coprolite is also used for ancient human fecal material in archaeological contexts.[2][3][4]

Initial discovery

British fossil hunter

belemnites.[6]

Research value

By examining coprolites,

dinosauriform Silesaurus may have been an insectivore, a suggestion which was based on the beak-like jaws of the animal and the high density of beetle remains found in associated coprolites.[9] Further, coprolites can be analyzed for certain minerals that are known to exist in trace amounts in certain species of plant that can still be detected millions of years later.[10] In rare cases, coprolites have even been found to contain well-preserved insect remains.[11]

Recognizing coprolites

A Miocene pseudocoprolite from Washington state. They are commonly mistaken for coprolites because of their appearance and shape; they are actually of inorganic origin. Scale in mm. See Spencer (1993).

The recognition of coprolites is aided by their structural patterns, such as spiral or annular markings, content, undigested food fragments, and associated fossil remains. The smallest coprolites are often difficult to distinguish from inorganic pellets or from eggs. Most coprolites are composed chiefly of calcium phosphate, along with minor quantities of organic matter. By analyzing coprolites, it is possible to infer the diet of the animal which produced them.

Coprolites have been recorded in deposits ranging in age from the

index fossils, such as Favreina from the Jurassic period of Haute-Savoie in France
.

Some marine deposits contain a high proportion of fecal remains. However, animal excrement is easily fragmented and destroyed, so usually has little chance of becoming fossilized.

Coprolite mining

In 1842 the Rev

sulphuric acid, he patented an extraction process and set about finding new sources.[15]

Very soon, coprolites were being mined on an industrial scale for use as

Ipswich docks where the Fisons works once stood.[18]

The industry declined in the 1880s[17][13] but was revived briefly during the First World War to provide phosphates for munitions.[16] A renewed interest in coprolite mining in the First World War extended the area of interest into parts of Buckinghamshire as far west as Woburn Sands.[15]

See also

Look up coprolite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Scholia has a topic profile for Coprolite.

Notes

  1. ^ "coprolite". Dictionary.com.
  2. S2CID 17671309
    .
  3. PMID 19589985
    .
  4. PMID 19589984
    .
  5. doi:10.1017/S0007087400033161
    .
  6. ^ Rudwick, Martin Worlds Before Adam: The Reconstruction of Geohistory in the Age of Reform pp. 154-155.
  7. PMID 32337106
    .
  8. ^ Abhi (18 November 2005). "The Wonders of Dinosaur Dung". Sepia Mutiny.
  9. PMID 31031991
    .
  10. ^ Bakalar N (18 November 2005). "Dung Fossils Suggest Dinosaurs Ate Grass". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005.
  11. S2CID 235691750
    .
  12. doi:10.3140/bull.geosci.1667
    .
  13. ^ a b Eve B (2004). "Trimley St Martin and the Coprolite Mining Rush" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-08.
  14. ^ O'Connor B (2009). "(Corpolites in) Kirton, Suffolk". Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  15. ^ a b O'Connor B, Ford TD (2001). "The Origins and Development of the British Coprolite Industry" (PDF). Mining History: The Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society. 14 (5). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  16. ^ a b Grove R (1976). "Coprolite Mining in Cambridgeshire" (PDF). Agricultural History Review. 24 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-09.
  17. ^ a b c "Cambridgeshire - The Coprolite Mining Industry". EnglandGenWeb. 13 January 2000.
  18. ^ "Industrial Revolution". BBC Suffolk. Archived from the original on 2006-02-20.

References

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