Description

Early Cretaceous (Berriasian)

Yixian Formation

Huangbangi Valley, Beipiao, Liaoning Province, China

Ultra-rare 93mm notostracan arthropod on 140mm slab. Unusual white preservation.

Someone said this is what a “sea monkey” is and it’s not that far from the truth. Sea monkeys are actually a kind of brine shrimp. Weichangops belongs to a different order of crustaceans, the Notostraca, which includes the tadpole shrimp still living today. Take a look at this short video produced by the National Park Service about the living species called Triops: