Fossil - Mud Lobster (Thalassina anomala)

Fossil - Mud Lobster (Thalassina anomala)

Pleistocene epoch, ca. 100,000 years ago, Daly River, Australia.

A beautiful piece of bottom sediment with fossilized and highly detailed fragments of the chitinous carapace, scissors and legs of the Pleistocene mud lobster, Thalassina anomala. Thalassina is a genus of mud lobsters that live in the mangrove swamps of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. Thalassina is the only genus in the family Thalassinidae. This fascinating, lobster-like animal grows to a length of about 6-30 centimeters. Thalassina's chitinous carapace is long, oval-shaped and ends in a forked, narrow tail. The species has large scissors and eight walking legs. The scissors are of different sizes: the inner edge of the smaller scissors is sharp, has tooth-like projections and is used to hold and cut up prey. The larger scissors have nodules that the lobster uses to crush the shell of its prey. Thalassina anomala varies in color from light yellow to dark brown and deep brown-green. The specimen measures approximately 79mm x 45mm x 25mm. Weight approx. 58g.

Symbol meaning

Ritual use

Note! Fossils and ancient bones are natural products that are tens or hundreds of thousands, even millions of years old, so each one is unique. Therefore, colors, shapes and brightness may vary. The condition varies from fair to good and they have wear, fractures and small chips typical of fossils.