Fossilised POO dating back 70 million years reveals baby shark probably died after tucking into a turtle A paleontologist at Columbus State University believes the size of the fossil indicates the shark ejected it when it was practically a newborn Tiny vertebrae inside the fossilised poo indicate the shark's last meal was a newborn soft-shell turtle not much smaller than itself The fossilised poo measures almost four centimetres long and was discovered in a fossil bed close to the South Carolina coastline Fossilised faeces suggests an ancient baby shark might have been killed by its dinner. U.S. palaeontologists analysing a 70 million-year-old fossilised poo from an extinct newborn shark found it ate a baby turtle shortly before it died. The researchers think the shark, living close to the South Carolina coastline, bit off more than it could digest and probably died as a result. U.S. palaeontologists analysing a 70 million-year-old fossilised poo from an extinct newborn shark found it ate a baby turtle shortly before it died David Schwimmer, a palaeontologist at Columbus State University in Georgia, told LiveScience: "It's a case where a newborn shark ate a newborn turtle and died.' The fossilised poo, which is also known as a coprolite, measures almost four centimetres long and was discovered in a fossil bed close to the South Carolina coastline. Between 70 million and 80 million years ago, the area was where the baby shark was born - in a tidal estuary where the sea met inland rivers. Inside the coprolite (pictured) are some minute turtle vertebrae measuring just 3mm long Professor Schwimmer believes the size of the coprolite indicates the shark ejected it when it was practically a newborn. Inside the coprolite, which was described by the professor at the 73rd annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, are some minute turtle vertebrae. Each bone measures around three millimetres long, indicating the turtle must have been a newborn too. He believes the turtle that was eaten was a soft-shell species living in freshwater, while the small shark lived in the sea, indicating the fish had just come out of a pupping ground in the estuary, where the baby sharks hatched. Showing its predatory nature, the shark must have emerged from the pupping ground and almost immediately ate the newborn turtle, which probably only measured 10 centimetres in diameter, according to Professor Schwimmer. He believes the shark was probably not much larger than its dinner as the vertebrae in the fish's faeces indicate. He also believes the shark died shortly after forcing down the meal. Professor Schwimmer believes the size of the coprolite, which measures almost 4cm long, indicates the shark ejected it when it was practically a newborn Professor Schwimmer said: "It's possible the turtle was too much shell. [The shark] may have died from too much turtle. While Professor Schwimmer is not sure about the exact species of the shark and turtle, he thinks the shark could be the extinct Squalicorax kaupi. Scientists studying other shark coprolites have previously found some fish had tapeworms 270 million years ago.