Friday, May 18, 2012

Protocallinassa sp. claw from the Navesink formation

As a companion piece to the Ophiomorpha nodosa burrows I posted last week, here is a partial claw from the arthropod that lived in the burrows. It's called Protocallinassa and was a ghost shrimp that lived on the seafloor scavenging for food. It's not too commonly found as the exoskeletons often fell apart in the water current after death.





I found this fossil at Big Brook near Marlboro, Monmouth County, NJ. It probably came from the Navesink formation (Cretaceous, Masstrichtian stage)which lines the banks of the creek.

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