---
title: "Fossilised Dinosaur Dung"
description: "Describe what coprolites are (fossilised dinosaur dung) and how palaeontologists analyse them to discover what dinosaurs ate, including plant fragments, bones, and seeds"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/fossilised-dinosaur-dung-mt_1dXhJp6qLJ
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/fossilised-dinosaur-dung-mt_1dXhJp6qLJ.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# 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

Subject: Science · Area: Dinosaurs & Paleontology · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/fossilised-dinosaur-dung-mt_1dXhJp6qLJ

## Ready when they can

- 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

## Lesson: Coprolites: Fossilised Dinosaur Poop

Dinosaurs pooped just like animals do today. Most of that poop rotted away and vanished. But sometimes it got buried in mud right away, before it could rot. Over millions of years, the mud turned to rock, and so did the poop inside it. That rock is called a coprolite: fossilised dung, dinosaur droppings turned to stone.

*(drawing: Step by step: fresh dung gets buried, the mud slowly hardens into rock, and the dung turns to stone right along with it.)*

A coprolite looks like an ordinary grey or brown rock. But scientists know a trick to learn its secrets. They saw the rock open, or slice a piece very thin, and study it under a microscope.

**Example.** A scientist once sliced open a coprolite from a big meat-eating dinosaur. Inside, she found tiny crushed bone pieces. That told her the dinosaur crunched up bones while it ate, not just soft meat.

**Tip.** Coprolites are millions of years old and have turned completely to stone. They do not smell at all, so scientists can study them up close without holding their nose.

**Recap.** A coprolite is fossilised dinosaur dung, and whatever is hidden inside it, like seeds or bone bits, tells scientists what that dinosaur ate.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Types of Fossils](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-fossils-mt_1VSFoM44JU)
- [Plant-Eaters vs Meat-Eaters](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/plant-eaters-vs-meat-eaters-mt_DJh2JPwTf6)

## Opens up

- [How Palaeontologists Work](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/how-palaeontologists-work-mt_JBWMqZVO7S)