Archeologists Discovers a Rare Fossil of a Prehistoric Shrimp Inside a Clam

Three young shrimp went house seeking around 100 million years ago. They picked a huge clam, not the largest on the block, but comfortable at approximately 10 inches across, maybe to avoid predators far from protecting coral reefs.

The find is the latest in a long line of fossilized invertebrates who took sanctuary from other species. It shows researchers that inquilinism has been practiced by certain shrimp for at least 100 million years.

"This is a huge find," says Ninon Robin, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences who was not involved in the research. "It's unusual to come across examples like these that are associated." It's a stroke of good fortune."

The fossil retains early evidence of the animals learning to survive on the bottom of the shrimp did indeed go within the clam to hide from predators or environmental upheaval. "They've been adjusting to this very specialized environment from the beginning," Robin explains. "It was the only way they could survive."

Bicknell is ecstatic by the discovery. "I adore that these accidental fossils, these needle-in-a-haystack objects, have been preserved," he adds. "They're almost time capsules... that provide us a pretty wonderful glimpse into how individuals of an extinct ecosystem interacted with one another," says the researcher.

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