RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jun 28, 2021 17:38:22 GMT -5
Yup! Once the heat breaks I'll be cutting some more. Saw is set up in the garage, and it get too dang hot to work out there Same here, but I manage to sneak out to spin a blade now and then.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jun 29, 2021 6:56:06 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY Today's edition is one I cut last night and it has a ghost of a limb cross section with a larger diameter than a golf ball. Might be the largest limb ghost I've ever seen. I speculate this turdlet was part of a larger ensemble that was unceremoniously dumped upon the Jurassic landscape.
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Post by RickB on Jun 29, 2021 13:13:20 GMT -5
Mr. Hadrosaur must have had a terrible tummy ache and may have passed away right after he passed out that tree limb. Those guys must have had some strong stomach acid along with the gastroliths to digest something that size.
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stefan
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Post by stefan on Jun 30, 2021 9:07:37 GMT -5
Is it at all possible that the "doo"ty was dropped upon a downed limb and just preserved the limb in situ?
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jun 30, 2021 10:33:59 GMT -5
Is it at all possible that the "doo"ty was dropped upon a downed limb and just preserved the limb in situ? I'd say that's feasible. I note that the turd had an outer shape typical of others where the stick was not preserved jutting out from the sides so I tend to believe it was entombed within to begin with. Fact is I really don't know. Wasn't there a joke or a saying out there somewhere about poo on a stick?
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Post by stephan on Jun 30, 2021 12:08:43 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY Today's edition is one I cut last night and it has a ghost of a limb cross section with a larger diameter than a golf ball. Might be the largest limb ghost I've ever seen. I speculate this turdlet was part of a larger ensemble that was unceremoniously dumped upon the Jurassic landscape. That's a beauty
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,507
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Post by Brian on Jun 30, 2021 12:12:18 GMT -5
Interesting article that was just published describes the discovery of a Triassic era beetle in coprolite. A form of scan similar to a CT-scan was performed on the coprolite to see what was for dinner. phys.org/news/2021-06-beetle-species-pristinely-fossilized-dinosaur.htmlI’d love to know if they would be able to image the twigs Randy finds in his coprolites using that technique!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jun 30, 2021 12:38:18 GMT -5
Interesting article that was just published describes the discovery of a Triassic era beetle in coprolite. A form of scan similar to a CT-scan was performed on the coprolite to see what was for dinner. phys.org/news/2021-06-beetle-species-pristinely-fossilized-dinosaur.htmlI’d love to know if they would be able to image the twigs Randy finds in his coprolites using that technique! Cool article. Yeah, I'd like to see some of Randy's done.
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jun 30, 2021 16:58:13 GMT -5
Interesting article that was just published describes the discovery of a Triassic era beetle in coprolite. A form of scan similar to a CT-scan was performed on the coprolite to see what was for dinner. phys.org/news/2021-06-beetle-species-pristinely-fossilized-dinosaur.htmlI’d love to know if they would be able to image the twigs Randy finds in his coprolites using that technique! Thanks for the link. I need to be more diligent in looking for bugs, parasites and burrow tunnels in these. I've found plenty in petrified wood but it just hasn't been on my radar for coprolites.
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jun 30, 2021 18:37:36 GMT -5
This is the polished end of a petrified wood limb from the Wyoming Blue Forest. It's well known that much of the pet wood in this area was encased in algae which was often petrified with the wood. It's not unusual to find pieces where the algae had partially separated from the wood before being petrified, probably by dessication thus leaving a void to be filled in later with chalcedony. This one has bluish chalcedony and the fortification lines are visible. You can also see the algae crust around the perimeter.
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
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Post by RWA3006 on Jun 30, 2021 18:39:23 GMT -5
Now compare the pet wood with this coprolite specimen.
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by Brian on Jun 30, 2021 19:28:03 GMT -5
Interesting article that was just published describes the discovery of a Triassic era beetle in coprolite. A form of scan similar to a CT-scan was performed on the coprolite to see what was for dinner. phys.org/news/2021-06-beetle-species-pristinely-fossilized-dinosaur.htmlI’d love to know if they would be able to image the twigs Randy finds in his coprolites using that technique! Thanks for the link. I need to be more diligent in looking for bugs, parasites and burrow tunnels in these. I've found plenty in petrified wood but it just hasn't been on my radar for coprolites. What would be interesting to see is whether there are bitemarks in those twigs within the coprolites. I imagine that would be difficult to determine in a 2-dimensional slice, but a 3-dimensional scan would probably be much easier to identify teeth marks in a twig. Such data could be very helpful in determining the eating habits of these dinosaurs.
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jul 1, 2021 6:45:40 GMT -5
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quartzilla
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Post by quartzilla on Jul 1, 2021 21:49:51 GMT -5
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 1, 2021 22:35:41 GMT -5
Here's some of the best ghosts I've seen yet. This has to be one of my favorite examples of coprolite you've posted (well, there's SO many favorites! LOL). The limb cross sections showing the "growth rings" in the wood is beyond stunning to me! For some reason, something like this reminds me how insignificant we really are in the history of the universe...that's not meant as a pessimistic statement...just a realistic one.
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jul 1, 2021 22:48:50 GMT -5
jasoninsd I have to wonder what am I missing? Bug holes? Parasites? I'm aware of crustacean shell fragments and coral fragments that have been found inside coprolites from this area but I've never found them. Yet. There has to be more for us to learn.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 1, 2021 23:12:56 GMT -5
jasoninsd I have to wonder what am I missing? Bug holes? Parasites? I'm aware of crustacean shell fragments and coral fragments that have been found inside coprolites from this area but I've never found them. Yet. There has to be more for us to learn. I know people who seem to find Fairburn Agates nearly every time they go out hounding. I go out hounding quite a lot, but never seem to find anything of any significance with regards to Fairburns. Perhaps it's the same for you with regards to the anomalies... I wonder from how many species of dinosaurs you're finding droppings? Is it only a few different species...or is it an entire plethora of species. Of those species, were they perhaps existent in a time period when fewer species of bugs were prevalent, so bug holes would be few and far between? With regards to parasites, my initial thought was microscopic...but tics are parasitic...and not microscopic. Without a doubt, it's an interesting conundrum...but I LOVE the fact you're questioning all of this!
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,240
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Post by RWA3006 on Jul 1, 2021 23:54:55 GMT -5
So far I've done well at finding gastroliths and branch fragments, but not much else yet. I don't know how many species I'm encountering but the coprolite sizes vary from the size of an apricot to a bushel basket so that might give a vague idea.
I have noted I can classify these coprolite shapes into two distinct groups, there are the milk cow style of "splats" versus a spherical, firm blob that is like horse or elephant droppings. I have no clue if this is a marker to differentiate species or if it's just random.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 2, 2021 0:27:07 GMT -5
I really wish there was a way to classify the coprolite...or more accurately have a way to associate it in some way to a certain species...but I don't know there is really...
I know we've (you've) classified them into the cow versus horse types. But think about how many different "cow" species we have on the planet right now: cow, bison, water buffalo, muskox, etc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovinae)...and now many types of "horse" species there are: horse, donkey, zebra, etc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equidae) - and that doesn't include any Elephantidae or Rhinocerotidae.
I guess my point is, with that many types of animals with similar fecal matter, I don't know if there would be a way to differentiate between Angus poop and water buffalo poop once it would become petrified. An analysis of the fecal matter while still "fresh" would yield information on what was consumed and the species could be narrowed down. Once the fecal matter petrifies and is replaced by minerals, I don't know that there would be any way to analyze it in the same manner.
I guess this was just me "talking it out" that I don't believe there is a way to come close to knowing how many different species of dinosaurs of which you're finding their poop. LOL
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Post by oregon on Jul 2, 2021 1:03:20 GMT -5
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