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Post by vegasjames on Oct 20, 2017 16:47:19 GMT -5
Finally got this stuff identified. I posted this on some fossil forums and confirmed it is coprolite, most likely from a spiny dogfish shark. I cut and polished a few pieces and took these photos with a USB microscope to see what was inside. The presence of fish scales and bones confirms coprolite.  20171015_152518 by James Sloane, on Flickr  20171015_152827 by James Sloane, on Flickr  1 by James Sloane, on Flickr  4 by James Sloane, on Flickr  8 by James Sloane, on Flickr  17 by James Sloane, on Flickr  18 by James Sloane, on Flickr  20 by James Sloane, on Flickr  41 by James Sloane, on Flickr Fish scales  9 by James Sloane, on Flickr  19 by James Sloane, on Flickr  24 by James Sloane, on Flickr  28 by James Sloane, on Flickr  32 by James Sloane, on Flickr  38 by James Sloane, on Flickr  39 by James Sloane, on Flickr  42 by James Sloane, on Flickr Dermal denticles (placoid scales) found on cartilaginous fish like sharks  25 by James Sloane, on Flickr Fish vertebrae  33 by James Sloane, on Flickr |
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Post by captbob on Oct 20, 2017 16:54:20 GMT -5
Petrified fish poop! That's a first for me. whodda thunk ...
It's pretty darn cool tho
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 20, 2017 18:16:03 GMT -5
Petrified fish poop! That's a first for me. whodda thunk ... It's pretty darn cool tho Actually when I was doing my research I found out that fish coprolite is more common than land animal coprolites due to the higher phosphate content helping to preserve the coprolite better. |
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 20, 2017 18:20:16 GMT -5
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 20, 2017 18:21:29 GMT -5
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Post by MrMike on Oct 20, 2017 18:39:47 GMT -5
Cool finds James, just confirms I really can’t find shit rockhounding....
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Post by fernwood on Oct 20, 2017 19:40:19 GMT -5
That is awesome. Glad your research led to a positive ID.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,492
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 20, 2017 19:47:51 GMT -5
Holy sharksh*t Batman that is just too cool and what great photogrpahy....Mel
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 20, 2017 21:07:08 GMT -5
THAT is super cool! The photos are awesome and definitely confirms shark poo.
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quartz
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breakin' rocks in the hot sun
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Post by quartz on Oct 20, 2017 22:47:57 GMT -5
That's really sumpin', and great magnified pics. Knowing in general where a fish turd ends up when initially created, where was this found that used to be ocean?
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2017 1:45:38 GMT -5
That's really sumpin', and great magnified pics. Knowing in general where a fish turd ends up when initially created, where was this found that used to be ocean? Yes, fossil sponges, coral, shells, crinods, etc. are common in the area. |
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Post by toiv0 on Oct 21, 2017 3:49:35 GMT -5
this is incredible. Will have to google usb microscope now too...Thanks alot
Just looked and they are not that expensive, any recommendations?
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2017 6:57:09 GMT -5
this is incredible. Will have to google usb microscope now too...Thanks alot Just looked and they are not that expensive, any recommendations? I have not looked in to the USB microscopes recently. This one is probably 5 years old or more. It has not been used a whole lot but has a short in the cord so it was not built very well. Still works though if I fiddle with it. Last I checked these were going for around $30 and they had just come out with a stronger one (higher magnification). Personally I prefer stereoscopic microscopes. They are a bit more expensive but so much easier to use and better optics. You can also use better light sources with them. Although if you want to take photos you have to also get a camera made for microscopes or an adapter for an SLR camera. I have used both with my stereoscopic microscope and if you go this way I recommend going with the SLR adapter if you have an SLR camera unless you have the money for a high end microscope camera. Although the USB cameras these days are probably a lot better than the one bought years ago. For $30 it is worth trying. It looks like they are all pretty much made by the same company then private labeled so I doubt if one is any better than another other than magnification power. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2017 11:07:18 GMT -5
Holy sharksh*t Batman that is just too cool and what great photogrpahy....Mel Hey! I was gonna use that one! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2017 11:09:33 GMT -5
James, that is a job well done. Great detective work.
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 21, 2017 16:26:54 GMT -5
Man I so wish I purchased a dissecting scope with a built in camera. Slabs and such look so cool through the scope but it's hard to attach an after market camera to my scope....Mel
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 22, 2017 21:47:50 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the photos. Did you find this coprolite in the general Las Vegas area? I've found small shark teeth in ant hills near Vernal, Utah. Kinda amazing to contemplate that the sea once covered our area.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 23, 2017 0:56:33 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the photos. Did you find this coprolite in the general Las Vegas area? I've found small shark teeth in ant hills near Vernal, Utah. Kinda amazing to contemplate that the sea once covered our area. Yes, this whole area was once ocean. There are crinoid and other fossils even up on Mount Charleston. |
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Post by fantastic5 on Oct 23, 2017 8:32:09 GMT -5
vegasjames awesome pictures and even better detective work. I love the feather like fans that those scales look like under magnification. Never would have picked out the vertebrae however. Great eye!
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 23, 2017 17:33:51 GMT -5
vegasjames awesome pictures and even better detective work. I love the feather like fans that those scales look like under magnification. Never would have picked out the vertebrae however. Great eye! I wanted to go in to marinebiology most of my life and got in to studying sharks back in 6th grade, which is what I wanted to specialize in. So I recognized the shark placoid scales right away. There are actually two types I have seen so far. Thought I photographed the second one but cannot find the pic. Maybe it did not come out and I deleted it. Anyway the fish vertebrae is pretty easy to identify as well. It is the circular object to the right with concentric rings and radial lines. It looks like a shark vertebrae. This link shows the differences between vertebrae of fish and sharks, which are not true fish. www.earthlife.net/fish/skeleton.html |
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