Mecochirus longimantus Solnhofen Fossil Lobster

Description: An unusual member of the lobster family, the elongated first pair of walking legs are most distinctive, and are the derivation of the name of the species (long arm). In most specimens these long arms are poorly preserved. Not so in this specimen. They are well preserved and represented. This one has retained much of its carapace, and shows good presence and color.

As their name implies, all decapods have ten legs; these are the last five of the eight pairs of thoracic appendages characteristic of crustaceans. The front three pairs function as mouthparts and are generally referred to as maxillipeds, the remainder being pereiopods. In many decapods, however, one pair of legs has enlarged pincers; the claws are called chelae, so those legs may be called chelipeds. Further appendages are found on the abdomen, with each segment capable of carrying a pair of biramous pleopods, the last of which form part of the tail fan (together with the telson) and are called uropods.

This spectacular fossil comes from the lithographic limestone Solnhofen deposits of Germany. These 150 million year old deposits are famous for their exceptionally well-preserved organisms, the most famous of which are the handful of specimens of the ancient bird Archaeopteryx.