Neither a Crab nor a Shrimp: Scientists Discover Rare Fossil in China With an Almost Complete Body and Powerful Jaws
The Daily Galaxy • • science
Key Points:
- A newly described fossil species, Yunnanocyclus fortis, from the Early Triassic period in China provides rare, detailed insights into cyclidans, a poorly understood crustacean group known mostly from shells.
- The fossils, recovered from the Guiyang biota in Guizhou province, preserve delicate anatomical features including mandibles and maxillipeds, which are rarely fossilized in cyclidans.
- Yunnanocyclus fortis is notable for its unusually strong, mineralized mandibles, suggesting it could process tough material, a feature not commonly documented in this group.
- This discovery expands the known geographic range of Early Triassic cyclidans to the eastern Tethys region, previously documented mainly in Madagascar and Europe.
