2.75" Eocene Fossil Crab (Pulalius) - Washington State

This is a wonderfully prepared example of the Late Eocene aged fossil crab Pulalius vulgaris. These crabs are found within hard concretions (a mass of rock that forms around organic manner) that erode out of the Lincoln Creek Formation, which must be broken open to find the crab. The crab must then be prepared from the hard concretion using mechanical tools, a very time consuming process.

Most of the crab's legs were missing upon collection and there is restoration to the right claw. There are a couple repaired cracks through the crab where the nodule split during collection.

Below is an example of a Pulalius vulgaris crab in its concretion after having been broken open with a sledge hammer, prior to preparation.