Some people are annoyed when they encounter a fresh pile of dung while out on a walk in nature. Others are excited because it points to the recent visit of a particular kind of animal. But some scientists, myself included, ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jan 20, 2023
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22
Coprolites (fossil feces) from around 30,000 years ago have been used to identify the presence of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) at the Paleolithic site of Lagar Velho (Portugal). A comparison of the coprolites found ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jan 3, 2023
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33
Curtin researchers have analyzed organic molecules preserved within 306-million-year-old fossilized animal feces (coprolite) and unlocked a wealth of information about the diets of long-extinct animals and prehistoric ecosystems. ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 31, 2022
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517
Fossilized feces are common finds at paleontological dig sites and might actually contain hidden treasures. By scanning fossilized dung assigned to a close dinosaur relative from the Triassic period, scientists discovered ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 30, 2021
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5389
Knowledge of the diets of New Zealand's extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) comes from careful analysis of moa coprolites (fossilized poop) and gizzard contents. Moa coprolites and gizzard contents can be dissected and analyzed ...
Evolution
Jun 4, 2021
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13
Coprolites, or fossilized feces, are often used to understand the dietary preferences of ancient civilizations. However, the samples are often contaminated, making the analysis difficult. A new study, published in Scientific ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Feb 24, 2021
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55
A new study of coprolites, fossil poop, shows the detail of food webs in the ancient shallow seas around Bristol in south-west England. One hungry fish ate part of the head of another fish before snipping off the tail of ...
Archaeology
Nov 3, 2020
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335
Modern flamingoes employ filter feeding and their feces is, as a result, rich in remains of microscopically small aquatic prey. Very similar contents are described from more than 150-million-year-old pterosaur droppings, ...
Archaeology
Aug 26, 2019
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854
A trio of researchers from Texas A&M University and Wichita State University has found evidence of an early hunter-gatherer eating an entire venomous snake. In their paper published in Journal of Archaeological Science, Elanor ...
Coprolites, or fossilized droppings, of the dinosaur-like archosaur Smok wawelski contain lots of chewed-up bone fragments. This led researchers at Uppsala University to conclude that this top predator was exploiting bones ...
Archaeology
Jan 31, 2019
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275
