Science // Dinosaurs & Paleontology

Fossilised Dinosaur Dung

Describe what coprolites are (fossilised dinosaur dung) and how palaeontologists analyse them to discover what dinosaurs ate, including plant fragments, bones, and seeds

Ages
7 to 9
Type
Concept
Builds on
2 topics
Leads to
1 topic

Quick check

Does the learner know what a coprolite is? Can they explain — with a giggle — how fossilised poo helps scientists figure out what a dinosaur ate?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Define a coprolite as fossilised dung (animal droppings preserved as rock)
  • Explain that scientists cut coprolites open to find plant seeds, bone fragments, or fish scales inside
  • State one example of what coprolite contents reveal about a dinosaur's diet

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

2 topics
  • Types of FossilsRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 7 to 9

    Coprolites are a type of trace fossil — must understand the category first

  • Plant-Eaters vs Meat-EatersHelpful

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 5 to 7

    Understanding herbivore/carnivore classification helps interpret coprolite contents

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Fossilised Dinosaur Dung

Ages 7 to 9 // Concept

Leads to

1 topic
  • How Palaeontologists WorkHelpful

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 9 to 11

    Describing palaeontological field and lab work includes coprolite analysis as an example of trace fossil interpretation — students who know what coprolites are and what they reveal will understand the breadth of palaeontological methods

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

Children (ages 7–9) learn that a coprolite is fossilised dung — a trace fossil that records an animal's feeding — and that cutting one open can reveal contents (seeds and plant fibres, crushed bone, or fish scales) that give DIRECT evidence of what the animal that produced it actually ate, at least in that meal (mostly the tougher, less-digested parts survive). The central idea is contrasting this with the INDIRECT clue of tooth shape: teeth suggest what an animal COULD eat, while coprolite contents show what it DID eat. Learners practise reading contents to a diet conclusion (seeds→plant-eater, bone→meat-eater, scales→fish-eater), and also meet the honest limit that it is often uncertain WHICH animal produced a given coprolite.

Common misconceptions

  • 'A coprolite is a body fossil / a stomach' — it's fossilised dung, a trace fossil recording feeding.
  • 'Coprolites are worthless/just gross' — they are direct, high-value evidence of diet.
  • 'Teeth already tell us exactly what it ate' — teeth show capability; coprolites show actual meals.
  • 'We always know which dinosaur made a coprolite' — attribution is often uncertain.
  • 'All dung fossils look the same inside' — contents differ (plants, bone, scales) and that's the whole point.

Useful representations

  • A 'slice and examine' view: a coprolite cross-section with visible seeds, bone bits, or scales under a lens.
  • A contents → diet inference card (seeds→herbivore, bone→carnivore, scales→fish-eater).
  • Side-by-side 'teeth clue (could eat)' vs 'coprolite clue (did eat)'.
  • A magnifier tool revealing microscopic plant/bone fragments.

Teaching practices

  • Frame coprolites as prized DIRECT evidence of diet to convert the 'ick' reaction into scientific curiosity.
  • Contrast direct (coprolite contents = what it DID eat) with indirect (tooth shape = what it COULD eat) evidence — a clean lesson in evidence strength.
  • Have children read contents to a conclusion (seeds→plants; bone→meat; scales→fish), practising inference.
  • Flag the identification problem — you often can't be certain which species left a coprolite — to model honest uncertainty.
  • Use the memorable real case (a large bone-filled Cretaceous coprolite attributed to a T. rex) to make it concrete.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Slice and examine: read the coprolite's contents

    Why it works: The things preserved inside fossilised dung are the remains of an animal's meals, so reading those contents lets you infer what the dinosaur actually ate.

    1. Receive a lumpy grey 'coprolite' specimen and the explanation that it is fossilised dinosaur dung turned to rock.
    2. Open the specimen and sweep a magnifier across the cut face to find embedded contents — seeds and shredded plant fibres in one specimen, splinters of crushed bone in another, fish scales in a third.
    3. Collect each find (optionally by dragging items into an analysis panel) and state the diet verdict it supports: seeds/plant fibres → plant-eater; crushed bone → bone-crunching meat-eater; fish scales → fish-eater.
    4. Write or say the reasoning: 'the contents are the remains of what the animal ate, so this dinosaur was a ___.'
  2. 2

    Teeth clue vs dung clue: could eat vs did eat

    Why it works: Tooth shape suggests what an animal was capable of eating, but coprolite contents are direct evidence of what it really ate — a comparison of indirect versus direct evidence.

    1. Look at an animal's teeth beside the contents of a coprolite thought to come from that kind of animal, presented side by side.
    2. Say what the teeth suggest the animal COULD eat (capability) and what the coprolite shows it ACTUALLY ate (its real meals).
    3. Explain in their own words why the coprolite is direct evidence of diet while the teeth are an indirect clue.
  3. 3

    Whose dung was it? Modelling honest uncertainty

    Why it works: Even strong evidence leaves some questions open: coprolite contents can firmly reveal diet while the exact animal that produced the dung often stays uncertain.

    1. Examine a coprolite with clear contents (e.g. the famous large bone-filled Cretaceous specimen attributed to T. rex) and confidently state the DIET it shows.
    2. Then try to name exactly which animal produced it, and notice how hard that is.
    3. Say out loud what we can be sure of (the diet) and what remains uncertain (the exact producer), and why 'we're not sure' is a valid scientific answer.

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