Scientists Discovered The World's Oldest Public Toilet
A gigantic "communal latrine" created at the dawn of the dinosaurs has been unearthed in Argentina. The 240-million-year-old site is the "world's oldest public toilet".
Thousands of fossilised poos left by rhino-like megaherbivores were found clustered together, scientists say. The dung contains clues to prehistoric diet, disease and vegetation says a study in Scientific Reports.
Elephants, antelopes and horses are among modern animals who defecate in socially agreed hotspots - to mark territory and reduce the spread of parasites. But their best efforts are dwarfed by the enormous scale of this latrine - which breaks the previous record "oldest toilet" by 220 million years.
Fossil "coprolites" as wide as 40cm and weighing several kilograms were found in seven massive patches across the Chanares Formation in La Rioja province. A density of 94 poos per square metre was recorded by the researchers. And the excrement was spread across patches 900 square metres in size.
Prehistoric coprolites are nothing new, but it is extremely rare to find an accumulation as old and substantial as this one - because faeces degrade so easily.
"Maybe with these fossils we can glimpse into the lost environment which gave rise to the dinosaurs," said Martin Hechenleitner, a fellow author on the study.
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/53167.html
Thousands of fossilised poos left by rhino-like megaherbivores were found clustered together, scientists say. The dung contains clues to prehistoric diet, disease and vegetation says a study in Scientific Reports.
Elephants, antelopes and horses are among modern animals who defecate in socially agreed hotspots - to mark territory and reduce the spread of parasites. But their best efforts are dwarfed by the enormous scale of this latrine - which breaks the previous record "oldest toilet" by 220 million years.
Fossil "coprolites" as wide as 40cm and weighing several kilograms were found in seven massive patches across the Chanares Formation in La Rioja province. A density of 94 poos per square metre was recorded by the researchers. And the excrement was spread across patches 900 square metres in size.
Prehistoric coprolites are nothing new, but it is extremely rare to find an accumulation as old and substantial as this one - because faeces degrade so easily.
"Maybe with these fossils we can glimpse into the lost environment which gave rise to the dinosaurs," said Martin Hechenleitner, a fellow author on the study.
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/53167.html
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/53167.html
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