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The oldest in situ hermit crab from the Lower Cretaceous of Speeton, UK
Author(s) -
Fraaije René H. B.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
palaeontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1475-4983
pISSN - 0031-0239
DOI - 10.1111/1475-4983.00286
Subject(s) - hermit crab , ammonite , cretaceous , paleontology , geology , aperture (computer memory) , claw , biology , crustacean , decapoda , zoology , ecology , physics , acoustics
An Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian) hermit crab perfectly preserved within an ammonite is described. Palaeontologists have focused too much on the wrong class of molluscs in their attempt to analyse the evolution of the pagurids. The shift of mollusc habitation during the Cretaceous, from ammonites to gastropods, affected the morphology of the aperture–blocking hermit–crab claws.