Ash Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Hey guys/gals, Quick Q. If soft tissue is rare to find fossilized, how come coprolite is relatively abundant? Cheers, Ash "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Besides there having been inestimable quantities of it produced? I think it probably has something to do with the fact that a lot of excrement is not as subject to rapid bio-degradation because bacteria has already had its way with it; only burial is required for it to survive the elements. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Also, a lot of what is"called" coprolite is not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micropterus101 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Alot of what is called Coprolite is actually Iron siderite nodules. . fossil crabs website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Real coprolites can actually be pretty common in certain units. According to Tapanila et al. (2008), 20% of all phosphatic clasts in Eocene bonebeds in Mali are well preserved coprolites; 27% are bones and teeth, and 53% are abraded coprolites. There is a bonebed in the UK known as the coprolite bed. In phosphate-rich marine strata, phosphatized coprolites can be really abundant. The reason is because most poop is rich in phosphorus (one of the major minerals in bone), and during early diagenesis, can act as a nucleation point for additional phosphate minerals - in some cases this may only slightly improve preservation potential, but in others it turns the 'element' into a solid, mineralized clast that may survive repeated episodes of transport, winnowing, and reworking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Dog Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 My dog's poop turns to stone in the summer after only a day. Not surprised poop gets preserved when, as mentioned, so much is created. I have some coprolites from SD and green river. I have no doubt they are real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts