Fossilized poop (#coprolites) 💩 are a treasure trove of paleoecological clues! In our new study led by Larissa Catafesta, we analyzed 97 coprolites from the Rio do Rasto Formation (middle/upper Permian, Paraná Basin, southern Brazil)—a formation rich in coprolites but rarely studied in detail.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2025.201060

#OpenAccess Preprint: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18978067

#Paleontology #Permian #Fossils

This Fossil Friday is a set of fossilized droppings (coprolites)!

These were collected from the Late Cretaceous rocks of Saskatchewan by Karen Weinhold. Coprolites can be recognized by their distinctive shape and smell - the phosphorus in the original droppings leads to different minerals in the resulting fossil!

This is APS 1990-004, and the scale bar is 1cm.

Image credit: Howard Allen

#paleontology #fossils #dinosaur #fossilfriday #coprolites

Episode 48: That is one big pile of Poozeum

Poo and poetry.

George Frandsen is founder of the Poozeum in Williams, Arizona. He shares the story of the Poozeum and its mission to educate the world about coprolites. George also introduces us to Barnum – the world’s biggest T. rex poop. Alyssa and Travis review Walking with Dinosaurs and Jurassic World: Rebirth before Travis unleashes his softer side with a little palaeo poetry (‘Species’ by Tishani Doshi, from A God at the Door published by Cooper Canyon Press).

Access the transcript here.

#Barnum #coprolites #GeorgeFrandsen #JurassicWorldRebirth #Poetry #Poozeum #TishaniDoshi #TyrannosaurusRex #WalkingWithDinosaurs

Coprolites sounds better than 'poops', but they can tell us a lot...Like how dinosaurs were not picky eaters...

Over 500 fossilized poops show how dinosaurs came to rule the Earth

Researchers have conducted what could be the largest study ever of dinosaur poop. The findings shed new light on how dinosaur's diets allowed them to dominate the planet.

#dinosaurs #coprolites #fossils

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/26/nx-s1-5206634/fossilized-poops-show-how-dinosaurs-came-rule-earth

Scatological humor is always a sure-fire way to get a child audience’s attention, which means #coprolites are always amusing fossils to bring up in paleo outreach. To that end, may I recommend “The Clues are in the Poo”, coauthored by Jane Kurtz and #coprolite queen Karen Chin!
It’s a light, entertaining book that not only educates about these amusing fossils, but also acts as an autobiographical account of Karen’s career as well.

https://dinodadreviews.com/2024/04/17/the-clues-are-in-the-poo/