Dino dung snapped up at auction

Jurassic-era coprolite, or fossilised dinosaur dung

Two pieces of dinosaur dung have been sold at auction for $960 (£486) at an auction house in New York.

The fossilised dung, which resembles rock on the outside, and a colourful mineral inside, is 130 million years old, from the Jurassic period.

Auctioneers Bonhams of New York said it sold for twice the expected price.

The buyer is reported to be Steve Tsengas, the 71-year-old owner of a company that sells products to treat pet animal waste in Ohio.

Marketing tool

Mr Tsengas told Associated Press that he would use the dung as a marketing tool, by displaying it at the company's stall at trade shows.

"Poop is big business in the pet industry," he is quoted as saying by AP.

A 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite, which was expected to top the bidding, failed to sell.

The meteorite's owner, Marvin Kilgore, of the University of Arizona's Southwest Meteorite Center, said he was mystified that the fossilised dung had sold, but his meteorite - which is much more rare - had not.

"Some people want it on their shelves, I guess," he said.