Fossilized feces are known as 'coprolite' which means 'dung stone' in Greek. On August 13, 2015, the mass collection of 1,277 individual pieces of coprolites have been certified by the Guinness World Records.
These well-preserved pieces of poop have fossilized in the course of time. Many retained their natural shape but the mineral deposits have replaced the original structure of water and solid matter. Majority of the coprolites on display looked fresh but upon close observation, they are as hard as rock. They smell like rocks too.
Collectively known as the Amazing Coprolite Collection, this huge litter box is owned by George Frandsen. These fossilized feces were found in eight countries and 15 states in the United States. Interestingly, around 30 coprolites didn't make the official count not because of their beauty, but because paleontologists were not sure if they were actually feces to begin with.
"They are beautiful, in their way, and they are important because they can actually tell us quite a bit about the plant and animal life that flourished in ecosystems that disappeared millions of years ago," said Jeff Rodgers, South Florida Museum's Director of Education, expressed his passion over the coprolites. Rodgers stood witness during the official count.
The fossilized feces in the Amazing Coprolite Collection are grouped based on their characteristics. There are coprolites that have solid foreign objects inside them such as teeth, scales, plant fragments and even bones. Florida coprolites consist of 2,500,000 years old to 12,000 years old fresh-looking and smelly-looking fossilized crap that date back to the Pleistocene Epoch. Coprolites with bite marks found in South Carolina are believed to have been from ancient crocodylians. Wyoming coprolites date back 50 million years ago. Wyoming's ancient freshwater lake is deemed as one of the planet's best fossil sites. Wyoming coprolites have limestone residue and some insects fossilized along with the waste matter. There are also coprolites enclosed in matrix, a sedimentary rock. Coprolites from Morocco, dating back to the Cretaceous Period, are intricate, gold and almost beautiful if you don't know what you're looking at. The collection also includes a medley of small coprolites grouped together and counted as a bunch.
To date, the largest piece of discovered coprolite was given the nickname 'Precious', after the Balrog creature from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Scientists believe that it came from a prehistoric crocodile known as anthracosuchus balrogus. Precious has a dimension of approximately 7.71 inches by 4.93 inches big and weighs 4 pounds 3.5 ounces. Frandsen's Poozeum, an online museum of coprolites, is on the hunt for an even larger coprolite.
