Rare Devonian Phyllocarid (Echinocaris) - New York

This is an exceptional specimen of the rare Middle Devonian Phyllocarid, Echinocaris punctata. It was collected from the Hamilton Group in Livingston County, New York. The specimen is 3" long and centered on a thick 6.8 x 6" piece of shale. There is a tiny Spirifer (brachiopod) attached to the carapace.

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 lifestyle 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.