Nov. 2024

Dear Greg,

On behalf of the Paleobiology Department, Kirk and I thank you for your recent donation of brachyuran crabs from the late Eocene Keasey Formation of western Oregon. This collection combines excellent preservation with large specimen numbers. By my count, the collection consists of 258 specimens of Macroacaena schenki and 31 specimens of Megokkos macrospinus, which offer an excellent but rare opportunity to study morphological variation, particularly within a highly sampled fossil species in the case of Macroacaena schenkii. At least for arthropods, it is a rare opportunity to have the number of specimens from a particular species so high that it would allow a robust quantitative study. Another exceptional feature of this collection are the epibionts – gastropods, worm tubes (?sabellids), bivalves, and others – occurring on the crab carapaces. Such features indicate possible parasitic or symbiotic interactions that are relatively rare in the fossil record.

This Museum looks forward toward a continued collaboration with you that enriches the study of fossil arthropods and other organisms of the past marine realm.

Sincerely yours,
Conrad Labandeira
Curator of Fossil Arthropods
Department of Paleobiology
National Museum of Natural History

Kirk Johnson
Sant Director
National Museum of Natural History

My daughter Erika visits and photographs me working on some fossils.

GS Studio is proud to launch it's first website with spring collection #1: jewelry inspired by natural materials, found objects, fossils and the northwest landscape.