(Late Pennsylvanian – Miocene)

It may look like glass or a type of mineral, but amber is fossilized tree resin formed from the hardening of tree sap over time. Amber is a type of trace fossil but sometimes small animals, insects, or plant matter is preserved inside the resin, frozen in time for millions of years. These are called inclusions, and they are valuable to scientists as they can show what ancient life looked like more accurately than a normal fossil.

Coprolites are the scientific term for fossil poop. Really. It may seem gross, but paleontologists can actually learn a lot from studying droppings about extinct animals’ diets, movement patters, and even things about their environment. Coprolites are sometimes identified by surface texture, size and shape, and even undigested food content. As all organic matter has been replaced with rock (See our Basics of Paleontology page for more info on fossilization), coprolites are not any less sanitary than any other fossil.