Fossils trapped in amber give us a great glimpse of what life was like in the ancient past. Most of the time, what scientists find in the amber are insects. But sometimes, to their surprise, they see aquatic organisms trapped in the fossilized tree resin. Recently, scientists have revealed that they have found the first dinosaur-era crab. Even better, it's fully preserved in amber!
The crab in question, Cretapsara athanata, is said to be the oldest modern-looking crab, and they estimate its age to be about 100 million years old.
Javier Luque, the lead author of the research, described the crab as "very special in many ways." Despite being modern-looking compared to the other crabs from its era, the mid-Cretaceous amber in which it is preserved is proof that this crustacean belonged to the same time.
The question, however, is how did this aquatic animal become trapped in tree amber?
More about this over at Harvard University.
(All Images: Xing, L. et al., Longyin Amber Museum via Science Advances)
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