Driefontein PhD Coprolite study

This proposal aims to study 30 specimens of fossilized faeces, known as “coprolites”, from the
Early Triassic of South Africa. Coprolites contain exceptional palaeobiological information, providing a
unique palaeoecological window on the diet, feeding behaviours, trophic relationships, parasitism, and
digestive systems of extinct organisms. Moreover, because they can selectively preserve the remains of
tiny prey items, like arthropods and microvertebrates, they address specific taphonomic deficiencies in the
fossil record1-4
. Classical means of studying coprolites use either macroscopic or destructive means of
investigation, but recent, pioneering research using PPCSRmCT allows for non-destructive investigation of
the microstructures and microfossils contained within coprolites. By imaging these coprolites, we can gain
information on the ecological recovery and the microfauna in the Early Triassic following the catastrophic
end-Permian extinction, when 95% of all species on Earth went extinct.