Horseshoe crab
Fossil
Also called Xiphosuran, Mesolimulus, Euproops, and Limulid
About it
Arthropods with a horseshoe-shaped head shield and a spiked tail, a body plan little changed for hundreds of millions of years. Mesolimulus from Solnhofen, Germany, and Euproops from Mazon Creek, Illinois, are the best-known fossils.
- Type
- Fossil (arthropod)
- Group
- Xiphosuran (arthropod)
- Colours
- brown, tan, cream, grey, black
- Transparency
- opaque
- Periods
- Carboniferous, Jurassic, Cretaceous
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.