Editing Coprolite (section)

{{Short description|Fossilized feces}}
{{For|fossilized feces in archaeological contexts|Paleofeces}}

[[File:Tyrannosaurus rex Coprolite Poozeum.jpg|thumb|A large coprolite of a carnivorous dinosaur found in Harding County, South Dakota, US]]

[[File:Precious the Coprolite Courtesy of the Poozeum.jpg|thumbnail|A large Miocene coprolite from South Carolina, US]]

[[File:Coprolites 1.jpg|thumb|left|Coprolites found on the Blahnita riverbed, Romania, showing a seed inclusion (right specimen)]]

[[File:A large coprolite (fossilized feces or dinosaur poop) from South Carolina, USA..jpg|thumb|A large coprolite from South Carolina, US]]

[[File:Coprolites with Inclusions.jpg|thumb|Age: White River Oligocene; Location: Northwest Nebraska; Dimensions: Varies (25 mm × 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 [[fossil]]ized [[feces]]. Coprolites are classified as [[trace fossil]]s as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than [[Morphology (biology)|morphology]]. The name is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|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 [[conifer cone#Pinaceae cones|fir cone]]s" and "[[bezoar]] stones". They serve a valuable purpose in [[paleontology]] because they provide direct evidence of the predation and diet of extinct organisms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=coprolites|title=coprolite|publisher=Dictionary.com}}</ref> 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 [[silicate]]s and [[calcium carbonate]]s. 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.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gilbert MT, Jenkins DL, Götherstrom A, Naveran N, Sanchez JJ, Hofreiter M, Thomsen PF, Binladen J, Higham TF, Yohe RM, Parr R, Cummings LS, Willerslev E | display-authors = 6 | title = DNA from pre-Clovis human coprolites in Oregon, North America | journal = Science | volume = 320 | issue = 5877 | pages = 786–9 | date = May 2008 | pmid = 18388261 | doi = 10.1126/science.1154116 | bibcode = 2008Sci...320..786G | s2cid = 17671309 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Poinar H, Fiedel S, King CE, Devault AM, Bos K, Kuch M, Debruyne R | title = Comment on "DNA from pre-Clovis human coprolites in Oregon, North America" | journal = Science | volume = 325 | issue = 5937 | pages = 148; author reply 148 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19589985 | doi = 10.1126/science.1168182 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2009Sci...325..148P }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Goldberg P, Berna F, Macphail RI | title = Comment on "DNA from pre-Clovis human coprolites in Oregon, North America" | journal = Science | volume = 325 | issue = 5937 | pages = 148; author reply 148 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19589984 | doi = 10.1126/science.1167531 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2009Sci...325R.148G }}</ref> The study of coprolites in Japan was pioneered by [[Michiko Chiura]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Bioline International Official Site (site up-dated regularly) |url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/23348/oc03019.html |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=tspace.library.utoronto.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=030西広貝塚から出土した縄文時代のウンコ（糞石）{{!}}市原歴史博物館 |url=https://www.imuseum.jp/maibun/shinso/500.html |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.imuseum.jp |language=ja}}</ref>