by
Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor
Date:
04 February 2013 Time: 10:39 AM ET
The
remains of eight new species of crustaceans, including the oldest known spider
crabs that lived 100 million years ago, have been uncovered in a fossil reef in
northern Spain, scientists report.
The
fossils were found in the abandoned Koskobilo quarry alongside other species of
decapod
crustaceans (a group that includes crabs, shrimp and lobsters).
The two oldest-known spider
crabs, named Cretamaja granulata and
Koskobilius postangustus, are much
older than the previous record holder, said study author Adiƫl Klompmaker, a
postdoctoral researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the
University of Florida.
"The
previous oldest one was from France and is some millions of years
younger," Klompmaker told LiveScience, referring to the spider crabs.
"So this discovery in Spain in quite impressive and pushes back the origin
of spider crabs as known from fossils."
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