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Post by vegasjames on Apr 24, 2023 7:48:58 GMT -5
Went out the other day to collect some more fossil fish poop. Believe it is from a dogfish shark. The first photos are of the rough, and the last pics are some pics I took previously of some cut and polished coprolite photographed under a USB microscope. I have found regular fish scales, placoid scales and crinoids inside.
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Post by tims on Apr 26, 2023 19:16:45 GMT -5
Do you find these in areas that exhibit shark teeth?
Thanks for the magnified pics, spotting scales and crinoids is pretty neat.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 26, 2023 20:02:10 GMT -5
Do you find these in areas that exhibit shark teeth? Thanks for the magnified pics, spotting scales and crinoids is pretty neat. No, have not seen sharks teeth, although any teeth would be rather small if this is dogfish shark coprolite, which is what I think it is. A lot of it looks like rounded garnets, so had me stumped for a long time. Even showed it to a geologist and he was stumped as well. Finally posted it on a rock boar and a guy responded that it looked like the dogfish shark coprolite he finds in Georgia. That is when I cut and polished a surface on some pieces then examined them under the microscope confirming it was coprolite. They are rather small sharks though, so the teeth would be very tiny. I guess I could scoop up some soil from the area and search it under the microscope.
This was all ocean around here once, so a lot of marine fossils. Shells, crinoids, corals, sponges, marine worms, fish, bryzoans, etc. I even found a fossil jellyfish, and a lady from our club found a cluster of baby brittle stars all here in Southern Nevada.
I have found placoid scales in some of this coprolite, which would be from a shark, but again as small as they are the shark would have had to been pretty small. Possibly a baby. I do think the area I find this was a shark nursery as the coprolite is so abundant in a few locations of what would have been shallower areas.
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 27, 2023 0:43:04 GMT -5
Wow that seems to be a lot of fun!
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Post by victor1941 on Apr 27, 2023 9:28:20 GMT -5
Really nice find and several of your macro pictures would frame extremely well when enlarged for wall art.
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Post by tims on Apr 27, 2023 15:19:12 GMT -5
I'm right between the Black Hills and Thunder Basin grasslands which i believe were both part of the same ancient inland sea prior to the formation of the hills. Lots of marine fossils both places but i've only seen shark teeth out on the prairie. The teeth can be found embedded in sandstone and are very prolific in some areas, so i'd reason that with so many teeth the sharks must have been producing ample poo. Must find shark poo.
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 27, 2023 18:37:58 GMT -5
vegasjames - I swear I must be a little off-kilter because I'm fascinated by petrified poop! LOLL tims - If you ever find the location of the prehistoric outhouse out here, let me know!! LOL
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 27, 2023 23:37:09 GMT -5
Really nice find and several of your macro pictures would frame extremely well when enlarged for wall art. I have had the same thought. |
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 28, 2023 5:39:59 GMT -5
I'm right between the Black Hills and Thunder Basin grasslands which i believe were both part of the same ancient inland sea prior to the formation of the hills. Lots of marine fossils both places but i've only seen shark teeth out on the prairie. The teeth can be found embedded in sandstone and are very prolific in some areas, so i'd reason that with so many teeth the sharks must have been producing ample poo. Must find shark poo. There a couple of locations close to each other where I find this that the area is just packed with the coprolite. Would have been a rather shallow area at the time, so I think was a nursery area. This would explain the unusually rich concentration of coprolite in these areas. |
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 30, 2023 4:21:02 GMT -5
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