Ancient poop offers unusual insight into animal behaviour

By Charles Helm, Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University

Some people are annoyed when they encounter a fresh pile of dung while out on a walk in nature. Others are excited because it points to the recent visit of a particular kind of animal. But some scientists, myself included, may just be disappointed that the dung isn’t fossilised.

That’s because coprolites – fossilised scat – are palaeontological treasure troves. They can provide all sorts of information about the animal that deposited them, including…

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