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Post by knave on Sept 19, 2020 20:00:22 GMT -5
Leviathan pooped out a branch
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Post by stephan on Sept 19, 2020 20:23:24 GMT -5
Here's a couple of coprolite slabs. What do you see?  That’s pretty cool. |
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rockstock
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 472
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Post by rockstock on Sept 19, 2020 21:02:06 GMT -5
The dino poo fertilized the soil and a tree grew through it. Whether from the poo itself or from the ground. I think lol. The poo tree!
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Post by stephan on Sept 19, 2020 21:35:55 GMT -5
The largest coprolites I've found so far are about the size of a 20 gallon tank. They appear as boulders lodged in steep rocky ravines which discouraged any notions I had of getting them to the truck. I often find broken large ones and it's interesting that they are usually devoid of the beautiful colors and contrasts that I love in smaller specimens. The best colors and patterns seem most prevalent in the sizes ranging from egg to grapefruit size. I fancy that the texture of the original poo was very coarse and prolific ... much like that shot of the rhino, but on a grander scale. Many of us have heard the phrase "eat like a horse" and it comes from agricultural culture where people who were around horses and cows were well aware of the fact that horses, not being ruminants like cows, required substantially more feed than cows to derive their energy. I have no idea what kind of digestive tract these hadrosaurs had, but we do know that the variety of their buffet options was quite limited. Most of the literature I've read indicates that primitive plants like conifers, ferns, etc. were dominant and if you can imagine a diet of conifer boughs you can conclude that the texture might have been like the stuff you see shooting out of a chipper/shredder. Take into account that these critters had crude peg-like teeth and it adds to the hypothesis that the material being swallowed was very coarse. I suspect that the vibrant colors and spider webbing in the sub grapefruit sized specimens are due to them drying out and forming large cracks before whatever burial event covered them up. I think these inconsistencies provided opportunity for the concentration of silica from the ancient beach gravels they were entombed in. It's obvious these coprolites are eroding from a strata of beach gravel and petrified banks of beach sand. When I get a little time I'll post photos relating to these ideas ... Copralite really present a lot of investigative opportunities about these monsters of the past. Especially if the piles are somewhat in order. Florida is loaded with well preserved fossils and has almost zero tectonic activity allowing many finds that are closely in tact as they were long ago. This may be the case with your hunting grounds. You mentioned the strata and this is telling. The thunder egg like shape seems to insinuate a shape akin to something related to it's fossilization perhaps. Anyway it is fun to assume the why and whats of particular fossils. You are fortunate enough to see them as found in nature. Collectors are often overlooked for their findings yet they often know more about a given fossil than any well educated geologist. So you do find larger specimens and they are of lower quality but this is important. Betcha there are clues that would lead to important discoveries about dinosaurs. There is a big difference in the quality of the silicification in many types of fossils depending on their size. The diatomaceous silica found in limestone can be quite soluble and available in large amount allowing large silicifications. I would guess the silica involved in making copralite would be volcanic ash. Your imagination must run wild knowing such large and dangerous creatures were crawling all over the areas you collect at. Like finding large shark's teeth while swimming in a river. Most geologists I know love field work, and get out there and look for/collect rocks. We had three as members of the Sacramento Mineral Society. Great resources. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,662
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Post by jamesp on Sept 20, 2020 5:29:10 GMT -5
How fortunate. I hope that all geologists will join our forum stephen. Their knowledge would sure be valuable in this thread especially considering their knowledge of strata. |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 20, 2020 5:32:47 GMT -5
How fortunate. I hope that all geologists will join our forum stephen . Their knowledge would sure be valuable in this thread especially considering their knowledge of strata. |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700 
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 22, 2020 12:50:59 GMT -5
 TURD TUESDAY  |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 24, 2020 20:22:59 GMT -5
Here's five consecutive slabettes that came from a coprolite I cut a few years ago. I've been hoarding them, but finally sold them to a gentleman who needed them more than me.
From my experience I've had to cut well over 100 turds to get something this nice.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 24, 2020 20:24:12 GMT -5
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 24, 2020 20:25:18 GMT -5
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Sept 26, 2020 21:01:32 GMT -5
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 27, 2020 19:34:59 GMT -5
I'll have to admit I really don't know. The context of where it was found is huge in determining if it's fossil poo. Do you know where it came from?
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Sept 28, 2020 12:18:55 GMT -5
I actually found it in fill dirt. The material I find there is typically sugar agates, flint and petrified wood. All of the material has red dirt in the pores. Definitely not native to the Dallas area. I figure it comes from around the Red River or southern Oklahoma. There are agates up there and the dirt is red.
I forgot to mention that the rock fluoresces pink and orange under UV. The pink is similar to my local calcites.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 29, 2020 8:10:08 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY  |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 6, 2020 6:50:15 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY  |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Oct 13, 2020 17:54:20 GMT -5
Been looking at (rock) photo files in my computer most of the day. Ran across three photos of this rock, then realized it is TURD TUESDAY.
I know I did not collect this one personally. Wish I can remember where I got it from???
Must have been at a sale somewhere.
ETA - Looked around a little more, and was able to ascertain by the photo number and date that this rock came from an estate "non-sale" in San Diego some years ago.
Yes, it was a free rock pick, and we loaded up our truck. The rock collection belonged to a woman and her father. They rockhounded all over the SW US, so no stretch to believe they made it to Utah for dino bone and dung.
Cathy had held sales to rehome tons of rock and lapidary equipment from her dad's home, both before and after he passed. Several years later. she decided to downsize the amount of rocks at her home. We were fortunate to be in a rock club at the time, so got notification of the pick.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 13, 2020 20:28:52 GMT -5
Jean! rockpickerforever I forgot it's TURD TUESDAY! That's almost unforgivable and I'm so glad you picked up the slack and came through for us. I feel pretty confident by the color and pattern in your specimen that we can say it's southern Utah material. Yours looks very similar to some in my collection. Back in the days when your specimen was collected folks were getting most of the stuff from the South end of the Henry Mountains about an hour South of Hanksville. The focal location at the time was a place called Shittering Canyon, later known as Shottering Canyon. The area is mostly picked over now days but there are places in the general region that are good hunting. Not sure, but I think I can spot two gastroliths in your specimen (oh gross, I almost said sample). Anyway, many of these have gastroliths in the form of deep red little jaspers about the size of a small match head. I'm looking at one o'clock and seven o'clock on your last photo I'll post several photos of one in my collection that has classic red jasper mini gastroliths and I'll orient my thumb to point at them. |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,700
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 13, 2020 20:30:40 GMT -5
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thecrystalisle
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
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Post by thecrystalisle on Oct 13, 2020 20:40:28 GMT -5
This thread is awesome. Never knew coprolite could be agatized and so beautiful. Thanks for sharing
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 15, 2020 18:19:12 GMT -5
I was at Shootering Canyon on Oct 1st. There was tons of coprolite. A whole valley full! I didn't find very good quality, but a few will get sliced soon to see what's inside. Most of it has cleaved into plates. I found very few whole rocks.
I'm amazed that that much coprolite could have ended up in one place. Sometimes I wonder if some is not Dino poop, but some kind of agatized mud/algae or something. I don't understand how individual poops fossilzed. It would seem that it would homogenize & not be separate pieces. And why is it concentrated in a valley? Wouldn't it be found all over the general area?
Lynn
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I've learned a lot from it. I also now keep my eyes out for dino poops. Think I found one today while I was cutting some rocks. I thought it was a petrified wood at first. Now I think the texture makes mores sense. It even had a little tail on it. 
