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Post by woodman on Jan 1, 2021 18:04:10 GMT -5
The fresh depression at seven o'clock is where I had just picked up a nice coprolite. Somehow I figured that is what took place!
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jan 5, 2021 7:59:32 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2021 9:00:35 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY The banding in that one is beautiful! Do you often see banding in coprolites? I think I’ve looked at every picture in this thread at least twice and have only noticed banding a few times.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2021 9:08:53 GMT -5
[mention]rwa3006 [/mention] I thought you might get a good laugh about this fact my kids and I read in one of my son’s dinosaur books the other day. I told him I knew of a guy who could make that one look like a distant #2. I then showed them the pictures of your pillars of poop and their minds were blown!
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jan 5, 2021 9:48:13 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY The banding in that one is beautiful! Do you often see banding in coprolites? I think I’ve looked at every picture in this thread at least twice and have only noticed banding a few times. Brian, I would say that as far as my experience goes the silica banding is not rare, but not common either. It's scarce enough that I don't let many like this escape my collection because of the cool factor. Another thing that sets this particular specimen apart is the calcite crystal growth in the center. Again, this isn't rare either, but not that common also. To get nice occurrences of both phenomena in the same specimen is rare.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 5, 2021 10:03:03 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY Well, that's one of my favorite pics of poop in the whole thread! LOL That silica banding is awesome! Brian - Way to sweep the kids off their feet!
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jan 5, 2021 10:05:56 GMT -5
[mention]rwa3006 [/mention] I thought you might get a good laugh about this fact my kids and I read in one of my son’s dinosaur books the other day. I told him I knew of a guy who could make that one look like a distant #2. I then showed them the pictures of your pillars of poop and their minds were blown! Yes, I became aware last year that George Frandsen claims to have the largest coprolite collection at 1277 specimens. I have no idea how many I have but I do know I'm sitting at about 12 tons at the moment. That does not diminish Mr. Frandsen's collection though because his is quite different than mine. I notice his collection seems to be more comprehensive in species variety plus the sources are more varied. Mine are, as far as I can discern exclusively from hadrosaur species in southern Utah. I also suspect the chemistry of his collection is more typical of coprolites while mine are highly agatized.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2021 10:49:19 GMT -5
[mention]rwa3006 [/mention] I thought you might get a good laugh about this fact my kids and I read in one of my son’s dinosaur books the other day. I told him I knew of a guy who could make that one look like a distant #2. I then showed them the pictures of your pillars of poop and their minds were blown! Yes, I became aware last year that George Frandsen claims to have the largest coprolite collection at 1277 specimens. I have no idea how many I have but I do know I'm sitting at about 12 tons at the moment. That does not diminish Mr. Frandsen's collection though because his is quite different than mine. I notice his collection seems to be more comprehensive in species variety plus the sources are more varied. Mine are, as far as I can discern exclusively from hadrosaur species in southern Utah. I also suspect the chemistry of his collection is more typical of coprolites while mine are highly agatized. Both are impressive poop collections! I was also thinking of the pictures of the rivers of poop that you posted, which probably had at least 1200 specimens in one place. Personally, I think the poop is just as interesting as the bones. They tell such an interesting story and it amazes me that it can survive in any form after so many millions of years. For the record, the coprolite collection in my house currently stands at less than 2 ounces. Both kids dug out a small sample from a mineral/fossil dig kit that catalyzed our interest in this hobby. I have certainly had a lot of fun reading this thread and the various websites that have been linked, including Mr. Frandsen’s Poozeum website.
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Post by RickB on Jan 5, 2021 11:00:52 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY Nice to see an example of septarian dino poo.
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Post by 1dave on Jan 5, 2021 14:43:54 GMT -5
The banding in that one is beautiful! Do you often see banding in coprolites? I think I’ve looked at every picture in this thread at least twice and have only noticed banding a few times. Brian, I would say that as far as my experience goes the silica banding is not rare, but not common either. It's scarce enough that I don't let many like this escape my collection because of the cool factor. Another thing that sets this particular specimen apart is the calcite crystal growth in the center. Again, this isn't rare either, but not that common also. To get nice occurrences of both phenomena in the same specimen is rare. Remember the silica is deposited by ground water that ALSO contains calcite, so it should be expected.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2021 15:52:47 GMT -5
Brian, I would say that as far as my experience goes the silica banding is not rare, but not common either. It's scarce enough that I don't let many like this escape my collection because of the cool factor. Another thing that sets this particular specimen apart is the calcite crystal growth in the center. Again, this isn't rare either, but not that common also. To get nice occurrences of both phenomena in the same specimen is rare. Remember the silica is deposited by ground water that ALSO contains calcite, so it should be expected. Would the state of the poop prior to being buried have a significant impact on the formation of the banding? For example, would a sample that was dried out before being buried have a different appearance than one that wasn’t as dried out? I guess what I am trying to ask is whether the “preparation” of the poop affect the appearance of the coprolite or is it more the nature of the surrounding environment/groundwater that ultimately affects the look? (My apologies in advance for the clumsy questions... I’m still trying to wrap my head around al lot of new information.)
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jan 5, 2021 19:55:21 GMT -5
brian I believe the condition of the poo upon burial does affect the final result. Many of these specimens have prominent agate veins running through them and I hypothesize that after the turd got buried voids were created within by shrinkage, rotting, desiccation, etc. and were subsequently filled with silica which created the agate veins. This phenomenon is well known with petrified wood and I've found a goodly number of limb casts in the Blue Forest of Wyoming that nicely illustrate it. There is often a gap between the wood and the algae that was surrounding the wood. The gap could have been caused by shrinkage from drying or rotting and was later filled with silica. I believe coloration of coprolites is derived mostly from the chemistry of the material surrounding the specimen during petrification.
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jan 5, 2021 20:19:31 GMT -5
Here's a Blue Forest limb cast with an obvious gap between the limb and the algae surrounding it. The gap filled with white chalcedony and if you look close and enlarge the photo you'll see obvious fortification patterns in it indicating a void was being filled.
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Post by woodman on Jan 5, 2021 22:00:50 GMT -5
As long as we are talking casts, here are three from Hampton Butte! every wood collector needs this book!
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Post by stephan on Jan 5, 2021 22:20:21 GMT -5
Amazon’s version of the book does not seem to come with those three very nice specimens.
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Jan 5, 2021 22:33:54 GMT -5
As long as we are talking casts, here are three from Hampton Butte! every wood collector needs this book! Bob, I've noticed you are proficient in identifying pet wood species. Does this book have anything to do with that?
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Post by woodman on Jan 5, 2021 22:40:56 GMT -5
As long as we are talking casts, here are three from Hampton Butte! every wood collector needs this book! Bob, I've noticed you are proficient in identifying pet wood species. Does this book have anything to do with that? one of a number of books, not the best for ID work but great photos.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 6, 2021 8:31:25 GMT -5
Here's a Blue Forest limb cast with an obvious gap between the limb and the algae surrounding it. The gap filled with white chalcedony and if you look close and enlarge the photo you'll see obvious fortification patterns in it indicating a void was being filled. I searched Google last night for photos of Blue Forest petrified wood...holy smokes that's some amazingly gorgeous material! I also "mapped" it and heck, it's only an eight hour drive from my house to Blue Forest! LOL
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 6, 2021 8:59:42 GMT -5
brian I believe the condition of the poo upon burial does affect the final result. Many of these specimens have prominent agate veins running through them and I hypothesize that after the turd got buried voids were created within by shrinkage, rotting, desiccation, etc. and were subsequently filled with silica which created the agate veins. This phenomenon is well known with petrified wood and I've found a goodly number of limb casts in the Blue Forest of Wyoming that nicely illustrate it. There is often a gap between the wood and the algae that was surrounding the wood. The gap could have been caused by shrinkage from drying or rotting and was later filled with silica. I believe coloration of coprolites is derived mostly from the chemistry of the material surrounding the specimen during petrification. Thanks, [mention]rwa3006 [/mention]! That seems like a very plausible explanation and the limb cast you posted is an excellent example of the formation. Thinking about what it would take for the specimen to survive even long enough to begin the process makes me wonder what would have been the prime conditions for coprolite formation and what variables may have affected the ultimate appearance. Would it be safe to say that some drying out or hardening of the exterior would have been necessary for the coprolite to begin forming? A crust or rind that provides some structure and strength for the petrification to occur?
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 6, 2021 9:10:48 GMT -5
Here's a Blue Forest limb cast with an obvious gap between the limb and the algae surrounding it. The gap filled with white chalcedony and if you look close and enlarge the photo you'll see obvious fortification patterns in it indicating a void was being filled. I searched Google last night for photos of Blue Forest petrified wood...holy smokes that's some amazingly gorgeous material! I also "mapped" it and heck, it's only an eight hour drive from my house to Blue Forest! LOL Only 30 hours for me... road trip?!?
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