FOSSIL DROPPINGS. ...

Description

FOSSIL DROPPINGS
Coprolite/Cololite
Miocene
Toledo, Washington
This superb specimen is from an abundant locality in Washington State and represents finds that have been the subject of some controversy. Coprolite is the name coined by renowned paleontologist William Buckland for fossilized excrement, and the present specimen certainly has the correct appearance. However, the absence of internal inclusions in these specimens and lack of associated vertebrate remains has prompted scholars to categorize them as ferruginous pseudofossils, natural concretions whose evocative form has misled overly-keen fossil hounds. More recently, scholarship has been tending toward the theory that these are indeed fecal in origin, but that they are actually intestinal casts (cololite), possibly from a species of sloth, and even judging by appearance alone, this is the most persuasive conclusion. With a brown and gray patina and crackled texture that really does suggests dried excrement. The present specimen is a fine example, and measures 7¾ inches long.

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