Fossilised dung (coprolites) from unidentified fish and turtles. It is rare for a coprolite to be definitely assigned to a particular creature. Study

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Fossilised dung (coprolites) from unidentified fish and turtles. It is rare for a coprolite to be definitely assigned to a particular creature. Study of the contents of coprolites can, however, provide important information about the dietary habits of the residents of an area at a particular time. The pale brown turtle coprolite at left is 90 millimetres long, the grey one at right is 100 millimetres long. The brown turtle specimen is from the Miocene epoch, around 25 million years ago (mya), and was found in Washington State, USA. The grey turtle dung is from the early Cretaceous period, around 112 mya, and is from Madagascar. The smaller coprolites are from the Pliocence epoch ( mya) and were found in Mali.

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Photo credit: © SINCLAIR STAMMERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: albian, american, ancient, animal, animals, aptian, coprolite, cretaceous, diet, dung, early, faeces, fish, fossil, fossilised, fossils, madagascar, mali, miocene, palaeontology, paleontology, petrified, pliocene, reptile, reptilian, state, states, turtle, united, usa, vertebrate, vertebrates, washington