4.2" Silurian Phyllocarid (Ceratiocaris) - Scotland

This is a wonderfully preserved, Silurian aged Phyllocarid (Ceratiocaris papilio) collected in Scotland. It's 4.2" in length and the dark preservation contrasts well against the lighter matrix.

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