coprolite
a stony mass consisting of fossilized fecal matter of animals.
Origin of coprolite
1Other words from coprolite
- cop·ro·lit·ic [kop-ruh-lit-ik], /ˌkɒp rəˈlɪt ɪk/, adjective
Words Nearby coprolite
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use coprolite in a sentence
Feces, especially from carnivores, can readily form into coprolites.
New beetle species found in fossil poop of this dino relative | Nikk Ogasa | August 12, 2021 | Science News For StudentsFor example, coprolites have been used to show that some plant-eating dinosaurs also dined on crustaceans.
New beetle species found in fossil poop of this dino relative | Nikk Ogasa | August 12, 2021 | Science News For StudentsDespite this preservation power, coprolites can be overshadowed by amber, a translucent tree resin, when it comes to fossils.
Fossilized dung from a dinosaur ancestor yields a new beetle species | Nikk Ogasa | June 30, 2021 | Science NewsAmong those fossils were coprolites — fossil poop — filled with partially digested bone shards.
The secret to T. rex‘s incredible biting force is at last revealed | Sid Perkins | June 1, 2021 | Science News For StudentsAn earlier study, published in 2014, sifted through the tiny coprolites to look for traces of Neanderthal diets.
Oldest DNA from poop contains a Neanderthal’s microbiome | Kiona N. Smith | February 8, 2021 | Ars Technica
In many places they have been worked, under the name of “coprolite-beds,” as sources of artificial manures.
An ichthyo-coprolite from Tenby was found to contain 15.4% of phosphoric anhydride.
British Dictionary definitions for coprolite
/ (ˈkɒprəˌlaɪt) /
any of various rounded stony nodules thought to be the fossilized faeces of Palaeozic-Cenozoic vertebrates
Derived forms of coprolite
- coprolitic (ˌkɒprəˈlɪtɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for coprolite
[ kŏp′rə-līt′ ]
Fossilized excrement. Analysis of the fossilized animal and plant remains within coprolites provides important information about the diet and environment of ancient biota.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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