Uncommon Mazon Creek Horseshoe Crab

Eupropops danae

Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Chelicerata, Class Merostomata, Order Xiphosura, Family Euproopidae

Geological Time: Desmoinian, Pennsylvanian (~300 m.y.a.)

Size (25.4mm=1 inch): 18 mm wide by 10 mm long on a 30 mm by 33 mm nodule pair

Fossil Site: Francis Creek shale, Morris, Illinois (Mazon Creek)

Code: MZF02

Price: $125.00


Eupropops danaeDescription: The Mazon Creek deposits of the region near Braidwood, Illinois rival the other famous Lagerstatten of the Burgess Shale, Solnhofen, and Liaoning for the variety of detailed life preserved. Many exquisitely-preserved specimens are found in the ironstone nodules that make up the deposits. Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs) are related to the extinct Eurypterids, and more distantly to spiders and scorpions. They trace their ancestry back to the Cambrian, and proceed into the modern day as the genus Limulus. This one is found in the Mazon Creek deposits of Illinois, and is known as Euproops danae. It is common for the telson (tail) to not be preserved, as is the case here.

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