Description

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

11mm negative of marine isopod.

Crustacean,

Isopods belong to an order of crustaceans that dates back to the Carboniferous Period – first-known from the Mazon Creek fauna.  They are uncommon overall in the fossil record.  Biologists have studied modern ones the size of a lobster from the deepsea but most are small like the “pill bugs” you can find in your backyard. Compare to the picture of the living marine isopod to get an idea what this monster looked like.