Artifact of the Month – Coprolite, a Little-Known Fossil Trace of Life
Coprolites are primarily paleontological remains of scientific significance, but in a museum context, they can also be interpreted as works of art due to their unique forms and historical value. Their presentation draws our attention both to their uniqueness and to the scientific significance they hold.
Fossils play a crucial role in understanding past events in evolution. Coprolites are among the lesser-known fossil traces—also known as trace fossils—which are the fossilized end products of the digestive process. Trace fossils are formed as a result of certain life activities of organisms, but they are not the remains of their bodies. The analysis of animal waste products is a fundamental method in nutritional biology research, as the analysis of undigested and indigestible remains provides a complex picture of a given animal’s feeding habits and behaviours. Coprolites are true „time capsules”, containing the fossilized remains or imprints of consumed food, the identification of which can also aid in reconstructing the organisms, ecosystems, and paleoenvironmental conditions of the Earth’s geological past.
For a long time, these “uniquely” shaped fossils – derived from diverse organisms, a wide variety of sites, and numerous geological eras – were traded only among mineral collectors as strangely formed minerals. The preservation of the biological information they contain required favourable biochemical burial conditions, the presence of factors that prevented or minimized decomposition processes, and lithification; and the successful interpretation of this information requires a wide range of scientific knowledge and methods. The reconstruction of an ancient and extinct fauna is fundamentally theoretical. We can rely solely on the morphological characteristics of the coprolite and the embedded remains; however, in the absence of living descendants, there is no basis for comparison, and the lack of genetic material is also a fundamental problem. Fortunately, thanks to advances in instrumental technologies (such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mass spectrometry, isotopic analysis, and X-ray (e.g., CT) examinations), the micro-world preserved in the coprolite has become accessible, thereby significantly increasing the scientific value of it. In Hungary, the richest finds to date are the Upper Cretaceous coprolite specimens from the Iharkút-Csehbányai Formation (Bakony) site and the Miocene-age specimens from the Pécs-Danitzpuszta (Mecsek) sand pit.
The Biological and Paleontological Exhibition at the ELTE Museum of Natural History features two coprolites: the smaller one is round with a smooth surface, resembling the droppings of modern badgers in shape and size, and dates from the Lower Jurassic period; the larger one is a plaster cast, whose shape resembles the droppings of certain modern ungulates and dates from the Early Triassic period, originating from Austria (Werfen Formation, Styria). Based on our knowledge of the ancient environments, these are likely the remains of marine or coastal prehistoric animals, which were preserved for posterity after becoming embedded in coastal sediments.
Dr. Mária Ronkayné Tóth, biologist and museologist
Biology and Paleontology Exhibition, ELTE Natural History Museum