Cambridge – Gills indicate that the animal was aquatic or amphibious, and that it ventured into terrestrial and freshwater environments well before the rare known fossil record previously demonstrated. A tiny crab trapped nearly 100 million years ago in tree resin while it was still alive has been found in the present Myanmar. According to Science Advances, it is a historical discovery.
“It’s the first dinosaur-era crab trapped in amber,” he explains Javier Luque, Harvard University paleobiologist and co-author of the study. “And because it’s trapped in such a neat way, it’s the most complete crab ever discovered, to the point where it hasn’t lost a single hair.”
Crabs have been around for over 200 million years, says Luque. However, it was during the Cretaceous period, which goes from 145 million to 66 million years ago, that the crustaceans gave birth to the so-called Cretaceous Crab Revolution, the group has diversified, traveled around the world and started to play an important role in the ecosystems in which it settled.
Today’s crabs are a diverse group, ranging in size from less than 2 centimeters to over 3 and a half meters in diameter. Many live in marine waters, while others live in brackish or fresh waters and even on land.
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