>>An international team of scientists under Yale paleontologist Javier Luque has discovered a 95 million year-old “platypus crab” that may throw into question how you define a crab. Found in rock formations in Colombia and the United States dating back to the mid-Cretaceous period 90 to 95 million years ago, the tiny swimming crab with the scientific name of Callichimaera perplexa shows larval features that produce new insights on evolution.<<
>>“Callichimaera perplexa is so unique and strange that it can be considered the platypus of the crab world,” says Luque. “It hints at how novel forms evolve and become so disparate through time. Usually we think of crabs as big animals with broad carapaces, strong claws, small eyes in long eyestalks, and a small tail tucked under the body. Well, Callichimaera defies all of these ‘crabby’ features and forces a re-think of our definition of what makes a crab a crab.”<<
https://newatlas.com/platypus-crab-callichimaera-perplexa/59423/
