Getting the Dirt On Ancient Life With Coprolites

the_newsbeagle writes "Paleoscatologist Karen Chin knows you can learn a lot about ancient ecosystems by studying coprolites — fossilized feces. She has studied dino droppings from herbivores, and identified the types of plants those dinosaurs ate. She has identified T. rex turds, and found evidence that prehistoric dung beetles made use of those king-sized dino patties. This profile of Chin goes through her greatest hits, then focuses on her latest work, which sheds light on the reemergence of life after the K-Pg extinction event that brought down the dinosaurs... but left some surprising creatures unscathed."

Comments

A complementary article

[Taco Cowboy]

There's another article on Karen Chin and the fossilized turds online, which complements TFA nicely

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-Poop-on-Dinosaurs-Menlo-Park-2950982.php

On the other hand, Dr. Karen Chin's site at Colorado U turns up with a picture of a bison
http://www.colorado.edu/geolsci/faculty/chin.html