Coprolite?

[rod]

We have began searching a new aquatic site that has produced lots of shark and ray teeth. This leads us to beleive that some of the "rocks" we tossed back may have been coprolite. They were all of some size (3 -4 inches +) and had bits of shell and other items embedded in them. We were originally thinking they were concretions, but are new to the hobby, so were are just not sure how to tell the difference. How do you tell the difference in a water worn rock, concretion, and coprolite?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[fossiljunkie]

rod,

i have found numerous coprolite specimens, and to me they have a distinct look that is different than rock. to make it as simply put as possible,in the specimens i have found they have bends, twists,spirals, wrinkles, and a coloration that is different than those seen in the rocks found in my area. since you stated you have just started, may i recommend a few books that are great if you are beginning that i found helpful.you might want to consider them.here they are.

Vertebrate Fossils: A Neophyte's Guide - Frank A. Kocsis Jr.-great photos

Discovering Fossils - Frank A. Garcia and Donald S. Miller- great simple format

Fossil Shark Teeth Of The World - Joe Cocke - if your into shark tooth hunting a must have

books specific to your area would help.there are also some florida books that are excellent identification guides even for those living in other states, if similar fossils are in your area. i often reference florida books for my area here in south carolina.

hope this information helps.books in addition to looking at photos of finds on this site and posting your own will help.this forum is a great resource of knowledgeable people that can help. if you look closely at your finds when you are out hunting i think you'll notice a pretty distinct difference between rock and coprolite it just a matter of really looking at what you are finding. also i live by this rule. i can't stress how important this was to me and took me a little time to realize. if in doubt keep it. you can throw it away when you get home, but if you notice it in mid air as you toss it in the river it's usually too late. good hunting.

Edited July 23, 2010 by fossiljunkie

[tracer]

the way you tell the difference between stuff you find in the field is by seeing a bunch of it and learning to differentiate between things based on having an experienced eye. the primary way to train your eye without being in the field with a knowledgeable person is by either going to museums, joining a club, having a knowledgeable person show you a collection of things and pointing out the distinguishing features or by using the huge amount of online resources, like the google images function, to look at as many images of what you're interested in as possible and train yourself to notice all the minor details.

read up on shark coprolites. they are fairly distinctive, with a characteristic spiraled sort of shape. marine coprolites will frequently be of a different material than regular rocks. they tend to look blackened/phosphatized in the areas i've hunted in texas, but regardless of the color, they tend to have little bits and pieces of stuff in them. "classic", well-preserved coprolites are fairly easy to recognize, but it takes a bit of time to automatically spot "rolled" coprolites that have been worked on a bit by a high-energy water environment.

good luck with your learning curve. and the best way to get id's here is to post pictures. verbal descriptions of what you've found usually won't work...