“Pea Crabs” date back 8 million years, but they look just like the ones crawling on our beaches today!

These tiny fossil crabs are found in mass numbers in places like shale of the Monterey Formation. Because they lived in a coastal environment, their fossils are often found mixed with other fossil fish, pine cones, palm fronds, and other crabs.

The natural orange coloring is due to iron oxide.

Type: "Pea Crab"
Species: Pinnixa galliheri
Age: Miocene (23 - 5 million years old)
Formation: Monterey Formation
Locality: Monterey, California

Size of Matrix: 2.25 x 2.25 x .75 inches
Size of Specimen: 1.06 x .5 inches
Weight: 1.65 oz.