Huge Tumidocarcinus Crab Fossil from New Zealand

Description: In March and July of 2008 I had the unique privilege of purchasing two large lots from a most important collection. The collector had painstakingly accumulated a superb group of decapods, echinoderms and other fossils during a twenty-year period. The vast majority of the specimens came from self-collecting, academic resources, trading, and selected purchases. Very few of fossils came from the normal channels of trade shows and commercial internet resources. Any specimen presented under this introductory paragraph will generally be a superior collector grade fossil; be it of rarity, preservation, or, both.

In the Miocene seas of New Zealand, the giant crab Tumidocarcinus giganteus, five times the size than the modern purple rock crab, flourished. The fascinating aspect of the creature's claws was the difference in size between right and left. On males, the right claw could grow up to twice the size of the left. It's believed the over-sized claw was used for fighting, feeding and signalling to attract female crabs.These deepwater creatures scrabbled sideways along the seabed.

This is a fine, if incomplete specimen of this species. Both claws are present as are residual segments of four of the legs. It was found in a concretion and is fully inflated and 3D, with a deep chocolate brown color.