Editing Coprolite

{{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>

==Initial discovery==

British fossil hunter [[Mary Anning]] noticed as early as 1824 that "[[Bezoar|bezoar stones]]" were often found in the abdominal region of [[ichthyosaur]] skeletons found in the [[Lias Group|Lias]] formation at [[Lyme Regis]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Torrens, H | title = Mary Anning (1799–1847) of Lyme;'the greatest fossilist the world ever knew' | journal = British Journal for the History of Science | year = 1995 | volume = 28 | issue = 3 | pages = 257–284| doi = 10.1017/S0007087400033161 | doi-access = free }}</ref> She also noted that if such stones were broken open they often contained fossilized fish bones and scales as well as sometimes bones from smaller ichthyosaurs. These observations by Anning led the geologist William Buckland to propose in 1829 that the stones were fossilized [[feces]] and to name them coprolites. Buckland also suspected that the spiral markings on the fossils indicated that ichthyosaurs had spiral ridges in their intestines similar to those of modern sharks and that some of these coprolites were black with ink from swallowed [[belemnite]]s.<ref>Rudwick, Martin ''Worlds Before Adam: The Reconstruction of Geohistory in the Age of Reform'' pp. 154-155.</ref>

==Research value==

By examining coprolites, [[Paleontology|paleontologists]] are able to find information about the diet of the animal (if bones or other food remains are present), such as whether it was a [[herbivore]] or a [[carnivore]], and the [[taphonomy]] of the coprolites, although the producer is rarely identified unambiguously,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Borry M, Cordova B, Perri A, Wibowo M, Prasad Honap T, Ko J, Yu J, Britton K, Girdland-Flink L, Power RC, Stuijts I, Salazar-García DC, Hofman C, Hagan R, Samdapawindé Kagoné T, Meda N, Carabin H, Jacobson D, Reinhard K, Lewis C, Kostic A, Jeong C, Herbig A, Hübner A, Warinner C | display-authors = 6 | title = CoproID predicts the source of coprolites and paleofeces using microbiome composition and host DNA content | journal = PeerJ | volume = 8 | pages = e9001 | date = 2020-04-17 | pmid = 32337106 | pmc = 7169968 | doi = 10.7717/peerj.9001 | doi-access = free }}</ref> especially with more ancient examples.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/002546.html | title=The Wonders of Dinosaur Dung|publisher=Sepia Mutiny|author=Abhi|date=18 November 2005}}</ref> In some instances, knowledge about the anatomy of animals' digestive tracts can be helpful in assigning a coprolite to the animal that produced it, one example being the finding that the [[Triassic]] [[Dinosauriformes|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.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Qvarnström M, Wernström JV, Piechowski R, Tałanda M, Ahlberg PE, Niedźwiedzki G | title = Beetle-bearing coprolites possibly reveal the diet of a Late Triassic dinosauriform | journal = Royal Society Open Science | volume = 6 | issue = 3 | pages = 181042 | date = March 2019 | pmid = 31031991 | pmc = 6458417 | doi = 10.1098/rsos.181042 | bibcode = 2019RSOS....681042Q }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1118_051118_grass_dinos.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051124053238/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1118_051118_grass_dinos.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 24, 2005 |title=Dung Fossils Suggest Dinosaurs Ate Grass | first = Nicholas | last = Bakalar | name-list-style = vanc |publisher=National Geographic News|date=18 November 2005}}</ref> In rare cases, coprolites have even been found to contain well-preserved insect remains.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Qvarnström |first1=Martin |last2=Fikáček |first2=Martin |last3=Vikberg Wernström |first3=Joel |last4=Huld |first4=Sigrid |last5=Beutel |first5=Rolf G. |last6=Arriaga-Varela |first6=Emmanuel |last7=Ahlberg |first7=Per E. |last8=Niedźwiedzki |first8=Grzegorz |date=2021-08-09 |title=Exceptionally preserved beetles in a Triassic coprolite of putative dinosauriform origin |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=31 |issue=15 |pages=3374–3381.e5 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.015 |pmid=34197727 |s2cid=235691750 |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021CBio...31E3374Q }}</ref> There is also a documented case of a coprolite containing an [[Trace fossil|ichnofossil]] in the form of footprints of a [[Crocodilia|crocodilian]], created when a crocodilian stepped on the faecal matter before it became fossilised.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Halaclar |first=Kazim |last2=Rummy |first2=Paul |last3=Deng |first3=Tao |last4=Do |first4=Truong Van |date=December 2022 |title=Footprint on a coprolite: A rarity from the Eocene of Vietnam |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X22000105 |journal=[[Palaeoworld]] |language=en |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=723–732 |doi=10.1016/j.palwor.2022.01.010 |access-date=31 October 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Recognizing coprolites==

[[Image:Wilkes pseudocoprolite.jpg|thumb|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 [[Cambrian]] period<ref name="kimmig">{{cite journal | first1 = Julien | last1 = Kimmig | first2 = Luke C. | last2 = Strotz | name-list-style = vanc |year=2017 |title=Coprolites in mid-Cambrian (Series 2-3) Burgess Shale-type deposits of Nevada and Utah and their ecological implications |journal=[[Bulletin of Geosciences]] |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=297–309 |doi=10.3140/bull.geosci.1667 |doi-access=free }}</ref> to recent times and are found worldwide. Some of them are useful as [[index fossil]]s, 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<span class="anchor" id="Coprolite mining"></span>==
In 1842 the Rev [[John Stevens Henslow]], a professor of botany at [[St John's College, Cambridge]], discovered coprolites just outside [[Felixstowe]] in [[Suffolk]] in the villages of [[Trimley St Martin]],<ref name="trimley">{{cite web|url=http://www.trimley-st-martin.org.uk/downloads/TSMCMR.pdf|title=Trimley St Martin and the Coprolite Mining Rush| first = Berridge | last = Eve | name-list-style = vanc |date=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008170433/http://www.trimley-st-martin.org.uk/downloads/TSMCMR.pdf|archive-date=2007-10-08}}</ref> [[Falkenham]] and [[Kirton, Suffolk|Kirton]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bernardoconnor.org.uk/Coprolites/Suffcops/KIRTON.htm|title=(Corpolites in) Kirton, Suffolk| first = Bernard | last = O'Connor | name-list-style = vanc |date=2009|access-date=2017-02-02}}</ref> and investigated their composition. Realising their potential as a source of available phosphate once they had been treated with [[sulphuric acid]], he patented an extraction process and set about finding new sources.<ref name= "O'Connor">{{cite journal|title=The Origins and Development of the British Coprolite Industry|vauthors=O'Connor B, Ford TD|journal=Mining History: The Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society|volume=14|issue=5|date=2001|url=http://archive.pdmhs.com/PDFs/ScannedBulletinArticles/Bulletin%2014-5%20-%20The%20Origins%20and%20Development%20of%20the%20British%20.pdf|access-date=2017-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202234707/http://archive.pdmhs.com/PDFs/ScannedBulletinArticles/Bulletin%2014-5%20-%20The%20Origins%20and%20Development%20of%20the%20British%20.pdf|archive-date=2017-02-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Very soon, coprolites were being mined on an industrial scale for use as [[fertiliser]] due to their high [[phosphate]] content. The major area of extraction occurred over the east of England, centred on [[Cambridgeshire]] and the [[Isle of Ely]]<ref name="mining1">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.bahs.org.uk/24n1a4.pdf|title=Coprolite Mining in Cambridgeshire|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060309184349/http://www.bahs.org.uk/24n1a4.pdf|archive-date=2006-03-09 | vauthors = Grove R |journal=Agricultural History Review|volume=24|issue=1|date=1976}}</ref><ref name="mining2">{{cite web|url= http://www.rootsweb.com/~engcam/coprolite.htm |title=Cambridgeshire - The Coprolite Mining Industry|publisher=EnglandGenWeb|date=13 January 2000}}</ref> with its refining being carried out in [[Ipswich]] by the [[Fisons|Fison]] Company.<ref name="mining2" /> There is a [[Coprolite Street]] near [[Ipswich dock]]s where the Fisons works once stood.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/nature/walk_thru_time/05.shtml | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060220080540/http://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/nature/walk_thru_time/05.shtml |archive-date=2006-02-20|title=Industrial Revolution|publisher=BBC Suffolk}}</ref>

The industry declined in the 1880s<ref name="mining2" /><ref name="trimley" /> but was revived briefly during the [[First World War]] to provide phosphates for munitions.<ref name="mining1" /> 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]].<ref name="O'Connor" />

== See also ==
{{Wiktionary|coprolite}}
{{Scholia|topic}}
* [[Bromalite]]
* [[Fecalith]]
* [[Fossils and the geological timescale]]
* [[Gastrolith]]
* [[Guano]]
* [[Lloyds Bank coprolite]]
* [[Regurgitalith]]
* ''[[The World of Poo]]''
* [[Petrifaction]]
* [[Petrified wood]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* {{Cite journal| vauthors = Spencer PK |year=1993|title=The "coprolites" that aren't: the straight poop on specimens from the Miocene of southwestern Washington State|journal=Ichnos|volume=2|issue=3|pages=1–6|doi=10.1080/10420949309380097|bibcode=1993Ichno...2..231S }}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Coprolites|volume=7|pages=111–112}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Trace fossils]]
[[Category:Feces]]