Fiona Keeton

Museums Development Officer

Coprolite

It’s amazing that a bodily function can survive the test of time to become an exciting fossil.

What is a Coprolite?

Yes, coprolite really is fossil poo! It is a very interesting fossil to geologists because it records the activities of an animal. It is not the animal itself (like an ammonite shell), but records a moment in time. It is difficult to tell what sort of animal made it, as it would look the same for many different animals. It is about 190 million years old from the Upper Lias, probably from near Whitby.