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What can fossilized poop tell us?
A coprolite is fossilized fecal material. Because it began as waste, it can preserve evidence of what an animal ate and of the ecosystem around it. That evidence may survive even when the animal that produced the coprolite cannot be identified from the fossil itself.
The Mazon Creek coprolites in the dietary study came from Illinois and were reported to be 306 million years old. Researchers found a high proportion of cholesterol-derived molecules and a distinct lack of plant-derived biomarkers. They interpreted that pattern as consistent with a meat-eater, or an animal with a predominantly carnivorous diet. The producer remained unidentified. (Curtin University, 31 August 2022)
What are the “fingerprints” in a coprolite?
Here, “fingerprints” means chemical traces called lipid biomarkers. Lipids are fats and related molecules; some can persist in fossils and provide evidence about the original organic material. In the Mazon Creek dietary study, the mix of cholesterol-derived molecules and the absence of plant-derived biomarkers informed the researchers’ dietary interpretation.
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These signals are not intact DNA. They can help answer a question such as whether the producer’s diet was likely carnivorous, but they do not by themselves reveal the animal’s species or prove precisely what it ate.
How could the molecules survive for millions of years?
A 2025 study examined not what the Mazon Creek animal ate, but how soluble lipid biomarkers could be preserved in coprolites. The researchers reported that biomarker signals were associated with the mineral siderite and, in some cases, pyrite, but not with fluorapatite. (Tripp et al., Geobiology, 18 September 2025)
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The authors propose that early mineral formation helped immobilize organic molecules before they could be lost or altered. In particular, rapid precipitation and the low porosity of siderite cement may have helped sequester the biomarkers. This is a proposed explanation for preservation in the studied fossils, not a universal rule for coprolites. Preservation may also depend on redox conditions, porewater chemistry and the original organic material.
What remains unknown about the animal?
The chemical evidence supports a dietary inference, not a definite identification. The Mazon Creek producer could not be identified from the coprolites discussed in the dietary study. A biomarker pattern can narrow what researchers infer about diet, but it does not name the animal that left the fossil.
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Likewise, the mineral associations reported in 2025 help explain how biomarkers may have survived in these fossils; they do not show that all fossilized feces preserve chemical traces equally well. The finding is specific to the material and mineral relationships examined in that study.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A separate coal-ball find: tiny pellets inside larger coprolites
A different Illinois discovery, reported in a 2026 Journal of Paleontology paper, offers another kind of evidence from ancient feces. It concerns a Pennsylvanian coal ball from the Mt. Rorah Coal Member, not the Mazon Creek biomarker study. Researchers described two coprolite-filled borings, 3 cm and 6 cm long. Larger pellets measured 0.5–2 mm across, while a second type measured under 60 μm. (Lakeram et al., online 5 February 2026)
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- Deep orange and brown tones with a rich, textured coprolite surface. These fossils come in a natural earthy orange-brown color with a unique textured surface, reflecting their ancient history and extraordinary natural beauty.
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The authors interpret the tiny pellets’ position and contents as likely oribatid mite feces, suggesting the mites fed on larger coprolites—a form of coprophagy. The larger coprolite’s producer is uncertain; possibilities discussed include an early roachoid, a millipede or another terrestrial arthropod. This is an interpretation of pellet placement and contents, distinct from the chemical-biomarker evidence at Mazon Creek.
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