Exceptionally preserved asphaltic coprolites expand the spatiotemporal range of a North American paleoecological proxy.

ABSTRACT: As fossilized feces, coprolites represent direct evidence of animal behavior captured in the fossil record. They encapsulate past ecological interactions between a consumer and its prey and, when they contain plant material, can also guide paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Here we describe the first coprolites from the lagerstätte Rancho La Brea (RLB) in Los Angeles, California, which also represent the first confirmed coprolites from an asphaltic ("tar pit") context globally. Combining multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, body size reconstructions, stable isotope analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and sediment analyses, we document hundreds of rodent coprolites found in association with plant material, and tentatively assign them to the woodrat genus Neotoma. N

SUBMITTER: Mychajliw AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7081288 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature