Rare dinosaur crab found in Limburg limestone
The animal, whose fossil remained preserved in three dimensions, lived about 66 million years ago, shortly before the dinosaurs became extinct.
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Researchers have found an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a small crab-like animal in South Limburg. The species, Alsasuacaris dirkeysermansi, is about 66 million years old and has been on display at the Oertijdmuseum since Thursday.
The fossil was found in the former ENCI quarry near Maastricht. The Oertijdmuseum worked with the Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht on the discovery. At the time, the animal lived in a warm, subtropical sea that covered part of what is now South Limburg.
According to the researchers, the way the fossil was preserved is particularly unusual. It is the first three-dimensionally preserved fossil from this group of animals. As a result, parts of the underside are also visible, which are often lost in flatter fossils.
The species was named Alsasuacaris dirkeysermansi. The second name refers to Diederik Dirk Eysermans, the Belgian collector who discovered the fossil and donated it to the museum. It was a tiny animal, not a crab the size of those that live along the coast today.
Researchers think the animals probably lived as parasites or in close dependence on other marine animals. That explanation remains a scientific interpretation of the available anatomical and geological evidence, not directly observed behaviour.
According to the researchers, the discovery provides information about a marine ecosystem at the end of the Cretaceous. Fossils of sea urchins, shells, corals and other marine animals have also been found in limestone from the region. Together, these remains show that the area was then a very different habitat from the Limburg landscape of today.
The discovery is not evidence that the species itself survived the mass extinction: the animal lived shortly before the dinosaurs became extinct. According to the researchers, its scientific significance lies chiefly in the rare three-dimensional preservation and the additional information this can provide about a small, difficult-to-study group of animals. The fossil can be viewed by the public at the Oertijdmuseum.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The factual description follows recent reporting by Omroep Brabant and a second public source. Speculative elements concerning behaviour are explicitly presented as probabilities.
- confirmed The fossil is about 66 million years old and was found in South Limburg. — This is mentioned in recent reporting about the discovery. source
- confirmed The fossil has been preserved in three dimensions. — Omroep Brabant describes this as the distinguishing feature of the discovery. source
- confirmed The species is called Alsasuacaris dirkeysermansi. — The species name appears in the source. source
- uncertain The animals probably lived as parasites or in close dependence on other marine animals. — The source uses a formulation expressing probability; the article retains that uncertainty. source
Editor's note
The discovery, age, location and exhibition have been confirmed in recent public reporting. Sources describe the parasitic way of life as probable, so it remains cautiously worded.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „fossiel dinokrab”
- NU.nl — „fossiel dinokrab”
- De Telegraaf — „fossiel dinokrab”