Search results for "coprolite"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
CoproID predicts the source of coprolites and paleofeces using microbiome composition and host DNA content
2020
Shotgun metagenomics applied to archaeological feces (paleofeces) can bring new insights into the composition and functions of human and animal gut microbiota from the past. However, paleofeces often undergo physical distortions in archaeological sediments, making their source species difficult to identify on the basis of fecal morphology or microscopic features alone. Here we present a reproducible and scalable pipeline using both host and microbial DNA to infer the host source of fecal material. We apply this pipeline to newly sequenced archaeological specimens and show that we are able to distinguish morphologically similar human and canine paleofeces, as well as non-fecal sediments, fro…
Diversity of vertebrate remains from the Lower Gogolin Beds (Anisian) of southern Poland
2020
Middle Triassic (Muschelkalk) limestones and dolostones of southern Poland contain vertebrate remains, which can be used for palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analyses. The results presented concern vertebrate remains uncovered at four localities in Upper Silesia and one on Opole Silesia, a region representing the south-eastern margin of the Germanic Basin in Middle Triassic times. The most abundant remains in this assemblage are fish remains, comprising mostly actinopterygian teeth and scales. Chondrichthyan and sauropsid remains are less common. Reptilian finds include vertebrae, teeth and fragments of long bones, belonging to aquatic or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as nothosaurids, …
Thorny-Headed Worms (Acanthocephala): Jaw-Less Members of Jaw-Bearing Worms That Parasitize Jawed Arthropods and Jawed Vertebrates
2021
Stem-acanthocephalans in the millimeter range might already have parasitized mandibulates in the Cambrian, while larger body sizes presumably evolved along with the upward-inclusion of gnathostome hosts. The characteristic morphology of modern acanthocephalans including the mostly hooked attachment organ (proboscis) should have emerged in the same context. Due to their rigidity, acanthocephalan hooks and copulatory caps are candidates for fossilization, but soft-tissue preservation might also have occurred under exceptional circumstances. Nonetheless, eggs represent the only ancient remains assigned to acanthocephalans to date. These were mostly retrieved from dried mammalian coprolites of …