Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Given that this is all we know so far about dinosaur urolites, it doesn't take a
whiztofigureoutthatmorestudiesareneededtobetterrecognizethesetracefossils
in the geologic record, which should be abundant. After all, these dinosaurs had to
go sometime, so the traces must be out there. So I will suggest a fun follow-up to
this research, which would be to try duplicating what was done with penguin-poo
physics. In other words, figure out minimum cloacal heights and diameters of these
peeingdinosaurs,velocityofflow,liquidviscosity,andotherfactors,andthenmod-
el the resulting structures. These could then serve as search images for similar trace
fossils. For example, minimum cloacal heights for a urinating dinosaur would have
been about the same as their hip heights; as we learned earlier, these can be calcu-
lated from dinosaur tracks. Paleontologists who do such research could be assured
of making a big splash with it, while also going against the flow of others' preju-
dices.Afterwards,theywillbeflushedwithsuccess,andtheircolleaguespissedoff.
The Straight Scoop on Dinosaur Poop
Assume that every dinosaur pooped. If so, not all of these end products of dinosaur
digestion were preserved in the fossil record. But you will have a load taken off
your mind when you know that those found thus far have not gone to waste, nor
remained the butt of jokes.
So let's say you found what might be a dinosaur coprolite. After all, it looks
like something your dog, your neighbor's dog, or your neighbor left in the yard, ex-
cept it's a rock, and quite large. In your excitement, you dash to the nearest natural
history museum or university, find a paleontologist, show it to her, and announce
withmuchfanfareanddramaticflourish,“Behold,adinosaurcoprolite!”Beforedo-
ing that, though, you really need to be a good little skeptic and go through a check-
list that asks the following questions:
• Was it from rocks of the same age as dinosaurs (Late Triassic through Late
Cretaceous)?
