Remains of ancient crab found trapped in resin According to the researchers It dates back 100 million years – the oldest modern-looking crab ever found.
Javier Luc / Lida Ching
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The jungle crab was discovered in Southeast Asia by miners in 2015 and was recently shared with the Longyin Amber Museum in China. According to the researchers, this is also the first crab ever found to coexist with dinosaurs.
According to Javier Luque, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Organic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, if we reconstructed the tree of life for crabs, using molecular DNA analysis, they would expect that non-marine crabs separated from their marine ancestors. more than 125 million years ago.
This new discovery allows the researchers to bridge the gap between the expected molecular differences and the actual fossil record of crabs, which before this discovery were about 75 to 80 million years old.
Javier Luc / Lida Ching
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Luque performed a micro-CT scan during the analysis that allowed them to get a clear view of the cancer’s delicate tissue details, such as the antennae, legs and mouth covered in fine hair, nostrils, and large compound eyes. In fact, the amber condition is so pure that not a single hair is lost.
Analysis revealed that the crab had no lung tissue, only gills, indicating that it was an animal that lived both on land and in water.
In a statement, Luque said, “They exist all over the world, making good aquarium pets, delicious to those of us who eat them, celebrated at parades and festivals, and even having their own constellations. The crabs are generally excellent, some looking odd—small bean-shaped crabs to giant coconut crabs.
Javier Luc / Lida Ching
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He added, “The diversity of shapes among crabs has captured the imagination of the scientific and non-scientific public, and now people are excited to learn more about this extraordinary group of non-dinosaurs. This is a big moment for the crab.”
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