11:40 AM - 12:00 PM
[O02-04] Coprolites considered by the various perspectives: mineralization, art, and more.
Keywords:coprolites, mineralization
Coprolites, which are the fossilized feces of vertebrates, have generally been studied by paleontological and archeological perspectives. For example, by observing the inclusions of a coprolite, we can know diets of the producing animal of the coprolite. However, it is not clear how much paleontological information preserved within a coprolite can reflect the original biological information of the producing animal.
Coprolites are generally composed of calcium phosphate or calcium carbonate. As for the formation of such minerals, it is likely that phosphate ions or bicarbonate ions, which were released by microbial degradation of organic matter, are rapidly reacted with calcium ions. Phosphatic coprolites sometimes contain mineralized soft tissues such as muscle tissues that are normally degraded rapidly otherwise preserved within the feces. Specific types of microbes and detailed conditions/mechanisms of reactions of mineral formation, however, has not been revealed.
Some hints for revealing the unclear issues described above could be obtained by observing animal feces from various perspectives such as art, medical care, and animal feeding. In this talk, the author would like to introduce sine preliminary ideas for probably deepening our understanding of coprolites so that we can do multidisciplinary discussion.
Coprolites are generally composed of calcium phosphate or calcium carbonate. As for the formation of such minerals, it is likely that phosphate ions or bicarbonate ions, which were released by microbial degradation of organic matter, are rapidly reacted with calcium ions. Phosphatic coprolites sometimes contain mineralized soft tissues such as muscle tissues that are normally degraded rapidly otherwise preserved within the feces. Specific types of microbes and detailed conditions/mechanisms of reactions of mineral formation, however, has not been revealed.
Some hints for revealing the unclear issues described above could be obtained by observing animal feces from various perspectives such as art, medical care, and animal feeding. In this talk, the author would like to introduce sine preliminary ideas for probably deepening our understanding of coprolites so that we can do multidisciplinary discussion.