Meet Callichimaera Perplexa – The Strangest Crab Of All Time – ‘Perplexing Beautiful Chimera’

Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com – Callichimaera Perplexa was no ordinary crab. It was the strangest crab that has ever lived.

This 95-million-year-old chimera species will force scientists to re-think the definition of a crab. Researchers describe it as “unusual and cute”. Callichimaera’s full name translates into “perplexing beautiful chimera.”

Artistic reconstruction of Callichimaera perplexa: The strangest crab that has ever lived. Image credit: Elissa Martin, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Researchers have discovered hundreds of exceptionally well-preserved specimens from Colombia and the United States that date back to the mid-Cretaceous period of 90-95 million years ago.

The cache includes hundreds of tiny comma shrimp fossils, several true shrimp, and an entirely new branch of the evolutionary tree for crabs.

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Callichimaera perplexa, is the earliest example of a swimming arthropod with paddle-like legs since the extinction of sea scorpions more than 250 million years ago. The name derives from a chimera, a mythological creature that has body features from more than one animal.

Callichimaera perplexa was small – about the size of a quarter.

It had large compound eyes with no sockets, bent claws, leg-like mouth parts, exposed tail, and long body are features typical of pelagic crab larvae. This suggests that several of the larval traits seen in this “perplexing chimera” might have been retained and amplified in miniaturized adults via changes in the timing and rates of development. This is a process called “heterochrony,” which may lead to the evolution of novel body plans.

Endless forms most beautiful: the diversity of body forms among crabs, including the enigmatic Callichimaera perplexa (center). Image credit: Arthur Anker & Javier Luque [photos]; figure by Javier Luque, Yale University

“Callichimaera perplexa is so unique and strange that it can be considered the platypus of the crab world,” Yale paleontologist Javier Luque said in a press statement.  

“It hints at how novel forms evolve and become so disparate through time. Usually we think of crabs as big animals with broad carapaces, strong claws, small eyes in long eyestalks, and a small tail tucked under the body. Well, Callichimaera defies all of these ‘crabby’ features and forces a re-think of our definition of what makes a crab a crab.”

Written by Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com Staff Writer