Word for the day: Coprolite

I was certain that the date of this article would be April 1.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/longest-...ld-at-auction/

I know quite a lot of fossilised old poops......but they wouldn't fetch much at auction.

I just got some today to give to a friend, one looks like a soft serve ice cream.

I have to admit that I am curious about this. How the heck would poop ever become fossilized in the first place? For that matter lots of fossils look like they are of plant and animal material that wouldn't exist longer than about 2 days (if even that) without being eaten by scavengers or dissolved by bacteria.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

I have to admit that I am curious about this. How the heck would poop ever become fossilized in the first place? For that matter lots of fossils look like they are of plant and animal material that wouldn't exist longer than about 2 days (if even that) without being eaten by scavengers or dissolved by bacteria.

Answer is here:
http://whyfiles.org/shorties/078coprolite/

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Originally Posted by Pasodama

Answer is here:
http://whyfiles.org/shorties/078coprolite/

....

Well, I read the article, but I must have missed where it says HOW fossilization actually does take place. It did mention that only a small percentage get fossilized, but no mention on how, exactly, it DOES happen.

I'll tell you we find scats of wild animals all over our property almost daily. Heck, every once in a while the neighbor's cattle will escape and leave sizeable "presents" all over our yard. I challenge anyone to find even one of those samples even partially fossilized. Heck, I would expect cattle ranches would be a veritable treasure trove of such fossils just based on volume of the samples deposited. Even if the odds were one in a million, any sizeable cattle ranch should have LOTS of coprolites in the making.

So, here's a cow plop. *plop* Tell me how to make it into a fossil.

Seems like a waste of a very cool, marketable name.

At least i get to tell people i purchased dino poop, don't know to many that can make that claim. Ill post a picture tomorrow of the ones i have.

Well, if it came from China, it's probably counterfeit. Now, there's a job for you.... Making fake petrified dinosaur poop. Probably looks good on your resume.

It came from Madagascar the guy had just gotten the shipment the day before.