Fossil collector Mary Anning lived in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in the early 1800s. She is remembered for making a number of important fossil discoveries of extinct animals, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs - large reptiles that lived in the sea. But these creatures weren't all she found on her collecting trips along the Jurassic Coast near Lyme Regis. In the video above Heather Middleton, a local fossil hunter, explores the less glamorous side of the legendary collector's career: fossilised poo. What can we learn from coprolites? Coprolites are the fossilised faeces of animals that lived millions of years ago. They are trace fossils, meaning not of the animal's actual body.

By looking at the shape and size of coprolites, as well as where they were found, scientists can work out what kind of animal the droppings might have come from. Coprolites can also contain clues about an animal's diet. For example, a spiral-shaped coprolite may have been left by an ancient shark or another kind of fish. This is based on the knowledge that some modern fishes such as coelacanths and sharks have spiral-shaped intestines. It is difficult to find out exactly what animal produced a now-coprolite, however, as fossils of the animal's body are not usually found in the same places as the fossil faeces. It is easier to tell whether the animal was an ancient meat-eater or a vegetarian. Dinner clues Scientists can look inside coprolites to see what they contain. If there are bone fragments, the animal was a carnivore. Tooth marks on the fragments, if present, can reveal how the animal ate its prey. Heather says, 'Mary was really the first person who looked inside these fossils and saw the remains of fish, with scales and bone. This prompted William Buckland, who was a well-known geologist, to confirm that they were coprolites, which are fossilised faeces.'