Rare, 6.4" Silurian Phyllocarid (Ceratiocaris) Fossil - Scotland

Rare, Silurian Phyllocarid (Ceratiocaris) Fossil - Scotland #113112

This is a rare Silurian-aged Phyllocarid (Ceratiocaris papilio) collected in Scotland. It's 6.4" in length and is exceptionally well preserved on a nice section of shale. It comes with an acrylic display stand.

Phyllocarids are a type of arthropod that first developed during the Cambrian. They had a hard protective shell, hinged carapace, and were thought to have a lifestyle similar to shrimp. Exactly how they fit into the arthropod taxonomy is still under debate: they may represent either a stem-lineage euarthropod or a primitive branchiopod crustacean.