Description

Unusuropode castroi Duarte & Santos, 1962

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)
Gara Sbaa Member, Akrabou Formation
Gara Sbaa, Morocco

17mm positive 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 tending to be found only in certain deposits.  Biologists have studied modern deepwater specimens the size of a lobster but most are small like the “pill bugs” you found in your grandparents’ garden.

Here’s a fair specimen to add to a starter fossil collection.