Belgian collector finds 66 million year old crustacean fossil

Diederik Eysermans, a Belgian fossil collector, discovered a 66 million year old fossil in an old quarry in Maastricht, Netherlands.

The specimen is a small crustacean that resembles a crab and dates back to the era of the dinosaurs. Eysermans donated the find to the national museum of prehistory in Boxtel. Researchers from the Maastricht natural history museum identified the fossil as a new species called Alsasuacaris dirkeysermansi.

This animal belongs to the Cyclida, an extinct group of crustaceans with only a few dozen known species worldwide. The find represents the youngest known member of its family and is the first fossil from this group to be preserved in three dimensions. Scientists suspect these animals may have lived as parasites on marine reptiles, but they need more research to confirm their lifestyle. The fossil is currently on display at the Boxtel prehistory museum.