Yeah, we’re coprolite-posting again. Coprolites are fossilized poops. We said it. The word coprolite comes from the Greek words kopros, meaning dung, and lithos, meaning stone. They aren’t our favorite type of fossil, but they’re a solid number two. Coprolites may be the butt of many jokes, but they’re also a valuable source of information about the past. These fossilized droppings provide direct, physical evidence of ancient life, including what animals ate, how they lived, and what their environments were like. Teeth and bones can tell us what an animal could eat. Coprolites tell us what it actually managed to get down. Fish scales, bone fragments, teeth, plant material, pollen, and shells can all survive the journey through an ancient animal’s digestive system. It’s essentially a prehistoric lunchbox, only considerably less appetizing. Scientists examine these remains, along with the shape and internal structure of the coprolite, to work out how an animal digested food, what it...