Tag Archive for 'Coprolite'

Boast et al. report ancient DNA and spores from the inside of two coprolites of the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) that reveal consumption and likely dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Image credit: Boast et al., doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0440.

Extinct Moa Consumed Colorful Truffle-Like Fungi, Scientists Say

Jan 24, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found ancient DNA and spores of truffle-like fungi, including at least one colorful species, inside two coprolites of the upland moa...

Fossil feces of the bone-crushing archosaur Smok, with a Smok reconstruction in the background. Image credit: Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki.

Fossilized Digestive Contents Shed Light on Rise of Dinosaurs

Nov 27, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists from Sweden and Poland have examined hundreds of fossilized samples of feces and vomit from the Polish Basin in central Europe to reconstruct...

Parasites found in the vertebrate coprolite from Thailand. Image credit: Nonsrirach et al., 10.1371/journal.pone.0287891.

Triassic Crocodile-Like Reptile Was Infected by Multiple Parasite Species

Aug 10, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found several species of parasites, including Ascaridida eggs, in a 200-million-year-old coprolite probably produced by a crocodile-like...

Contents of a coprolite fragment from the Krasiejów locality in Poland. Image credit: Qvarnström et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.015.

Paleontologists Find New Beetle Species in Coprolite of Triassic Dinosaur Relative

Jul 1, 2021 by News Staff

By scanning a fossilized coprolite of Silesaurus opolensis, a dinosaur relative that lived 230 million years ago (Triassic period) in what is now Poland,...

Moa browsed trees and shrubs within the forest understorey. Image credit: Heinrich Harder.

New Study Provides Insights into Diet of Extinct Little Bush Moa

Jun 4, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined 6,800- to 4,600-year-old coprolites attributed to the little bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis). The results support the...

Ecological reconstruction of Pelretes vivificus in the Burmese amber forest; the flowers in the reconstruction are based on Lijinganthus revoluta. Image credit: J. Sun.

98-Million-Year-Old Pollen-Feeding Beetle Found Preserved in Amber

Apr 14, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found an exceptionally preserved short-winged flower beetle and associated pollen aggregations and coprolites in a piece of mid-Cretaceous...