New Zealand palaeontologist discovers '12-million-year-old' crab fossil on beach
- 4 years ago
This timelapse footage shows an amateur palaeontologist uncovering an ancient crab fossil that he says is "12-million-years-old."
The fossil, found on beach in Christchurch, is encased in rock and Morne (Mamlambo on YouTube) carefully picks it away revealing the crab's claws and shell.
Morne told Newsflare: "I found a fossil crab on a beach in New Zealand and then used an air scribe to remove the rock to show the fossil crab. It took about 10 hours and I made a timelapse of it.
"It [the fossil] is dated by the age of the rock it is found in, Miocene era in this case. The rock layers have been dated by some geologists using a variety of techniques, I use that information to date it. It isn't very specific, rather a range.
"The species is a Tumidocarcinus Giganteus. Found in New Zealand."
The fossil, found on beach in Christchurch, is encased in rock and Morne (Mamlambo on YouTube) carefully picks it away revealing the crab's claws and shell.
Morne told Newsflare: "I found a fossil crab on a beach in New Zealand and then used an air scribe to remove the rock to show the fossil crab. It took about 10 hours and I made a timelapse of it.
"It [the fossil] is dated by the age of the rock it is found in, Miocene era in this case. The rock layers have been dated by some geologists using a variety of techniques, I use that information to date it. It isn't very specific, rather a range.
"The species is a Tumidocarcinus Giganteus. Found in New Zealand."