Following up on our story "Fossilised Footprints Suggest Tyrannosaurus Hunted in Packs", we have this report on the natural result of that hunting and feeding.
Squeeze out a bid for colossal coprolite at this weekend's auction
Auction house I.M. Chait has listed what it describes as an "Enormous and rare coprolite" said to measure 40 inches 101.6cm from end to end. The object is believed to have been the result of a meal consumed during the Miocene-Oligocene epoch, some 23 million years ago.
Here's the auctioneer's blurb about the miocene motion:"This truly spectacular specimen is possibly the longest example of coprolite ever to be offered at auction. It boasts a wonderfully even, pale brown-yellow coloring and terrifically detailed texture to the heavily botryoidal surface across the whole of its immense length. The passer of this remarkable object is unknown, but it is nonetheless a highly evocative specimen of unprecedented size, presented in four sections, each with a heavy black marble custom base, an eye-watering 40 inches in length overall."
The prehistoric poo is expected to fetch between $US8,000 and $10,000 when it goes under the hammer. If that's more than you're willing to pay for a no-longer-steaming pile of fossil faeces, the July 26th auction also features a collection of 5 coprolites expected to sell for just $4,000 to $6,000. There's also a single large specimen from the Jurassic expected to sell for a mere $500 and $700.
OK, guys. Here's your chance to let loose with your most prodigious poop puns.
[UPDATE: fixed typo: gave change a chance.]
Related Stories
Adjacent track ways of tyrannosaurus footprints have been discovered (full text) that suggest that tyrannosaurids hunted in packs. The fossilised footprints show clear evidence that the animals travelled together, with all three tracks going in the same direction around the same time, suggesting that these dinosaurs may have been social, and not solitary, animals.
The skeletal record of tyrannosaurids is well-documented, whereas their footprint record is surprisingly sparse. There are only a few isolated footprints attributed to tyrannosaurids and, hitherto, no reported trackways. We report the world's first trackways attributable to tyrannosaurids, and describe a new ichnotaxon attributable to tyrannosaurids. These trackways are from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian Maastrichtian) of northeastern British Columbia, Canada. One trackway consists of three tridactyl footprints, and two adjacent trackways consist of two footprints each. All three trackways show animals bearing southeast within an 8.5 meter-wide corridor. Similarities in depth and preservation of the tyrannosaurid tracks indicate that these three trackways were made by track-makers walking concurrently in the same direction. These trackways add significantly to previous osteology-based hypotheses of locomotion and behavior in Tyrannosauridae by providing ichnologic support for gregariousness in tyrannosaurids, and the first record of the walking gait of tyrannosaurids.
The first ever example of a plant-eating dinosaur with feathers and scales has been discovered in Russia. Previously only flesh-eating dinosaurs were known to have had feathers so this new find indicates that all dinosaurs could have been feathered.
(Score: 2) by black6host on Saturday July 26 2014, @08:49AM
I believe there is a typoo in the last sentence of the summary. Just FYI for the eds....
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 26 2014, @10:08AM
It's the same typo Obama made when he said he wanted a "CHANCE"
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Hairyfeet on Saturday July 26 2014, @10:53AM
Well "typoo" or not they look more like Cololites [osu.edu] than corprolites. Considering it says they are from Washington, where many coloites have been found, lends credence to them being more likely cololites.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 26 2014, @01:43PM
black6host [soylentnews.org] wrote:
Editor here. "Typoo" fixed, thanks for pointing it out! (In my defense, the story queue was nearly empty and it was almost midnight...)
On-topic, I'm not sure how that crap got past me. =) Maybe I subliminally wanted to give change a chance?
(Score: 2) by present_arms on Saturday July 26 2014, @09:49AM
seems to be a lot of shit, at first I thought it was a Microsoft auction :P
http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday July 27 2014, @09:16AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by anubi on Saturday July 26 2014, @09:58AM
would take a act of Congress.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 26 2014, @10:14AM
Having been fossilized into rock.
That's some cold hard shit!
(Score: 2) by present_arms on Saturday July 26 2014, @12:32PM
no shit? oh wait....
http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
(Score: 1) by malloc_free on Saturday July 26 2014, @01:11PM
...that shit's ancient.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 26 2014, @05:54PM
If it is 23 million years old, it can't be dinosaur poop. They were all gone 65 million years ago.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday July 28 2014, @12:03PM
Is 40 inches somehow unusual?