AI Insight
Researchers analyzed fossilized fecal matter (coprolites) from ancient ground squirrels and discovered remains of large Pleistocene animals including mammoths, bison, and big cats. The DNA extracted from these coprolites is among the oldest ever successfully reconstructed, revealing that these small herbivorous rodents scavenged meat from carcasses during the Ice Age. This behavior contradicts the traditional understanding of ground squirrels as strictly herbivorous animals.
Why it matters
This discovery demonstrates that ancient ecosystems had more complex feeding relationships than previously understood, and that supposedly herbivorous animals may opportunistically consume meat when available. The successful extraction of ancient DNA from coprolites also establishes these specimens as valuable sources for studying extinct species and paleoenvironments.
Fossilized poo harbors remains from mammoths, bison and big cats, including some of the oldest DNA ever reconstructed
Source: Ancient ground squirrels feasted on carcasses like ‘zombies of the Pleistocene’