Description

Unusuropode castroi Duarte (Santos, 1962)
Cretaceous
Gara Sbaa Member, Akrabou Formation
Gara Sbaa, Morocco

11mm negative marine isopod.

Crustacean, Arthropod.

Isopods date back to the Carboniferous Period – first-known from the Mazon Creek fauna.  They are uncommon in the fossil record and are found only in certain deposits.  Biologists have studied modern deepsea specimens the size of a lobster but most are small like the “roly-polies” you find in your backyard. Compare to the picture of the living marine isopod to get an idea what this monster looked like.