Superb Triassic Horseshoe Crab Fossil

Description: Just described in 2009, this is Yunnanolimlulus luopingensis, the first fossil horseshoe crab described from China. The taxon has been found in Triassic deposits of Luoping, as well as Yunnan Province, hence the scientific name encompasses both locations. Another genus was found in 2012 coming from Devonian deposits of Yunnan Province, pushing back the known age of xiphosurans in China some 50 million years. The basic body plan has changed but little over time, with some calling horseshoe crabs of today living fossils. This specimen is preserved in ventral aspect, allowing you to see the limbs in articulation, as well as the complete telson, looking for all the world like the ones I see washed up on the beaches of Cape Cod every summer.

Reference: Progress in Nature Science, Vol 19, pp 1090-3, 2009