Micro-CT dataset of a tetrapod coprolite (ZPAL V. 36/1401) from the Middle Triassic of Miedary (Poland) – Supplement to Carnicero et al.

This dataset contains high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography data of a large, well-preserved vertebrate coprolite (specimen ZPAL V. 36/1401, consisting of fragments ZPAL V.36/1401a, ZPAL V. 36/1401b, and ZPAL V. 36/1401c) recovered from the Middle Triassic (early Ladinian) glauconite beds of Miedary, Upper Silesia, southern Poland. These data are supplementary to the study: Carnicero, A., Pawlak, W., Rozario, A. P., Czepiński, Ł., Rytel, A., Sulej, T., Łaska, W., De Baets, K., & Tałanda, M. Diverse food content in the tetrapod coprolite from the Middle Triassic of Poland revealed by computed tomography. Tomographic scans were acquired at the Laboratory of Micro-Computed Tomography, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management, AGH University of Krakow (Poland), using a Phoenix v|tome|x m system with a Dynamic 41-200 flat-panel detector. Acquisition parameters were set individually for the specimens: fragment ZPAL V.36/1401a was scanned at 70 kV and 160 µA (200 ms exposure time, 3000 projections, isotropic voxel size of 11.2 µm), whereas fragments ZPAL V.36/1401b and ZPAL V.36/1401c were scanned together at 110 kV and 130 µA (100 ms exposure time, 2500 projections, isotropic voxel size of 14.5 µm). Reconstructions were processed in GE Phoenix datos|x software applying beam-hardening correction, and virtual 3D manual segmentation of the 16-bit TIFF image stacks was performed in Thermo Scientific Avizo 3D, Blender, and MeshLab. These micro-CT datasets enable non-destructive 3D visualization and spatial analysis of 298 identifiable fossil inclusions preserved within the coprolite's phosphatic matrix. The assemblage is predominantly composed of small actinopterygian fish remains (ganoid scales belonging to four body morphotypes, circumorbital and cranial bones, ribs, neural spines, haemal arches, hemilepidotrichia, and hypurals), indeterminate osteichthyan fragments, tentative tetrapod elements (?Archosauromorpha and ?Sauropterygia), and enigmatic ?Arthropoda appendages. These data demonstrate the role of vertebrate coprolites as phosphatic micro-Konservat-Lagerstätten, shielding fragile skeletal structures from external degradation and providing critical evidence of Middle Triassic trophic interactions.