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💩 Fossilized Dinosaur Dung

Yes — even dinosaur poop can turn to stone! Fossilized dung is called a coprolite, and it hides amazing clues about what dinosaurs ate. Get ready for the science of ancient poop.

3
lessons
~15 min
to learn
🔬 Science
subject
Ages 6–12
level
Start the course →

What you’ll learn

  1. Poop Turned to StoneDefine a coprolite and explain how fossilized dung forms.A coprolite is fossilized dung — poop turned to stone over millions of years. It is a trace fossil that forms when dung is buried quickly and hardened by minerals. Because it is stone, a coprolite does not smell.
  2. Clues Inside the DungExplain how the contents of a coprolite reveal a dinosaur's diet.Coprolites are time capsules of ancient meals. Meat-eater dung is full of crushed bone and fish scales, while plant-eater dung is packed with chewed leaves, wood, and seeds. What is inside tells scientists what a dinosaur ate.
  3. The Story a Coprolite TellsLearn who first studied coprolites and what a giant coprolite tells us.Mary Anning noticed strange stony lumps inside fossils, and William Buckland realized they were fossilized dung, naming them coprolites. A giant bone-filled coprolite from Canada shows that Tyrannosaurus rex had a bite strong enough to crush bone.

Questions this course answers

What is a coprolite?

A coprolite is fossilized dung — animal poop that turned to stone over millions of years.

Does a coprolite smell bad?

A coprolite has turned completely to stone over millions of years, so it does not smell at all.

What must happen for dung to become a coprolite?

Dung must be buried quickly before it rots so minerals can harden it into stone.

What can scientists learn from what is inside a coprolite?

The bits inside a coprolite, like bone or plants, tell us what the dinosaur ate.

A coprolite full of crushed bone came from which kind of dinosaur?

Crushed bone inside dung shows the dinosaur was a meat-eater.

Who gave fossilized dung the name coprolite?

Scientist William Buckland studied the stony lumps and named them coprolites, with help from Mary Anning's discoveries.

Grounded in trusted sources

  • Natural History Museum (London)
  • Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
  • American Museum of Natural History
  • Britannica Kids

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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