A VERY FINE CRAB FOSSIL

A VERY FINE CRAB FOSSIL

PESCIARA DI BOLCA SITE, VERONA, ITALY

Harpactocarcinus punctulatus (23 x 10 x 15 cm), Eocene (55 million years ago)

This rare and superb crab fossil comes from the limestone layers situated near Vicenza in Italy. The three-dimensional preparation of the fossil breathes new life into this specimen, which is perfectly articulated in a particularly vibrant pose. This specimen lived with its fellow crabs in a tropical zone rife with volcanos. Their eruptions poisoned the waters around them, killing these crabs, whose last movements have been perfectly captured millions of years later.