You see this? Hold it real still
You know what those are? Those are called micro poos. Hello everyone. My name is George Franson
and I hold the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of coprolites
or fossilized poop. So now let's take a look at a bunch of great specimens from my poo safe
Look at this big beautiful one. Looks like it was just made
This is a little box full of poo. Big pellets, little pellets, medium pellets
Not only do I collect just fossilized poo, I collect fossils next to poos or on poos
Look at that poo. It's almost like a big grin. Big grin for this exciting poo
All fossilized. I don't collect fresh poo. I also hold the record for the largest coprolite in the world
The only carnivorous dinosaur that was large enough to dump this remarkable bone-filled poop
70 to 66.5 million years ago during the late Cretaceous was a Tyrannosaurus rex
Interestingly enough, Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons were discovered in the same area as Barnum
So we can be fairly confident that this is a T. rex trophy turd
If you're wondering why coprolites are so awesome, you're in luck. Because today I am going to share five fascinating things that coprolites can teach us
Number one. Home sweet home. Do you know that prehistoric critters actually lived in poop
It's totally gross, but it's actually true. Here is a spectacular coprolite from Florida, which shows evidence of insect burrowing
This shows that poop played an important part in our prehistoric ecosystem, much like poop in modern times
These processes help break down the poop and supply nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium
which helps plants grow faster. More plants equals more food. More food equals more poop
You see it? Number two. Ha! You get it? Number two. Smells good, but tastes bad
See this cookie? It looks and smells great. But imagine your reaction if you were to bite into this cookie
and instead of delicious cream filling, you got toothpaste instead. Well, you'd be surprised and spit it out, right
Check out this incredible coprolite from South Carolina. It has perfect top and bottom bite marks from some type of prehistoric critter
Most likely a garfish of some kind. When this turd was fresh in the water
it probably gave off a pungent scent that made it seem like an attractive meal to a hungry predator
When the creature bit into the poo, it quickly realized this was not a delicious meal and spit it right out
This term is called aborted coprophagy. We know prehistoric fish sampled poo because of this incredible specimen discovered in southwestern Wyoming
It has remnants of poo stuck in its teeth. To date, this is the only vertebrate fossil that's ever been discovered that shows this yucky feeding habit
Number three. Wide load. Think of a giant crocodile or alligator. Now think of its poop
Did you think of something really long? Of course you did. But did you know that it's the diameter or width of a crocodilian's poop that has direct correlation of the animal's length
It's true. Using a mathematical equation, scientists can estimate the length of a crocodilian using the diameter of its poop
Because crocodilians have changed very little over millions of years, paleontologists can use this equation to estimate body sizes when crocodilian coprolites and fossilized poops are discovered
Here is an example using one of my favorite coprolites, Precious. Precious is a crocodilian coprolite with a width of 12.5 centimeters or just under 5 inches
Using the poo width equation, I can estimate that the maker was 6.5 meters or 21 feet long
That's one huge prehistoric croc. Number four. Who goes there? In the world of coprolites, it is really difficult to link prehistoric feces with a certain prehistoric creature
However, some lungfish and shark species have very distinctive valves in their intestines
These spiral intestinal valves make gorgeous spiraled poop that turn into coprolites
This one is from Kansas. This one is from New Jersey. Finally, this beautiful specimen straight from England
Knowing what type of creature made a specific coprolite helps us piece together what prehistoric ecosystems looked like during a certain time and place
Number five. What goes in must come out. This is Barnum. A Tyrannosaurus rex coprolite from South Dakota
Barnum is the largest coprolite in the world. Tyrannosaur coprolites like this one provide a wealth of information about the diet and digestion of this formidable dinosaur
By studying the bone inclusions, we can tell that T. rex crushed and consumed large quantities of bones when it ate
It also shows that T. rex was not capable of completely digesting all of these bones
This is a small piece of Barnum showing a distinct bone inclusion
You can also see bits of bone throughout the surface of Barnum
Coprolites tend to be the butt of a lot of fossil jokes
However, they're an incredibly important and underrated part of our fossil record
They can tell us a lot about prehistoric ecosystems, animal diets, physiology, anatomy, and of course, behaviors
So what's next for Barnum? Like his namesake, P.T. Barnum, Barnum the coprolite is going to take his show on the road
So hopefully Barnum will be at an exhibit near you very soon
I hope you enjoyed meeting Barnum. Thank you Guinness World Records for making coprolites great again