Oldest Shrimp in the World Discovered -- in Oklahoma

The oldest fossilized shrimp in the world was recently discovered -- not in a coastal area, but in landlocked Oklahoma.

Geologists have been studying the ancient morsel, which was preserved in stone is as much as 360 million years old and was found in Oklahoma in remarkably good condition -- even the muscles of the fossil are preserved.

Rodney Feldmann, a professor at Kent State University in Ohio, explained that the sea critter was in Oklahoma because at the time, Oklahoma was the sea.

"It was preserved at a time when Oklahoma, and much of the rest of North America, was beneath sea level," Feldmann told FoxNews.com.

In fact, Oklahoma was so far beneath sea level as to be called "undersea." The U.S. geography was much different millions of years ago: A continent called Laramidia existed when a shallow sea flooded the central region of North America, isolating the eastern and western portions of the country for millions of years during the Late Cretaceous period.

And where there's ocean, there's sea food. But that's not even the surprising part of the story, Feldmann told FoxNews.com.

"The amazing thing is that the shrimp fossil represents the oldest member of the shrimp clan known anywhere -- and older by a huge amount of time." Prior to finding the fossil in Oklahoma, the oldest known shrimp hailed from Madisgascar, Feldmann explained.

"This one is way younger, having an age of only 245 million years -- making the shrimp from Oklahoma 125 million years older."

The fossil shrimp, having a length of about 3 inches, was found by fellow paleontologist Royal Mapes of Ohio University and his students. Feldmann and associate professor Carrie Schweitzer, who published their findings in the current issue of Journal of Crustacean Biology, named the fossil after the finder: Aciculopoda mapesi.

The discovery is also one of the two oldest decapods (Latin for "ten footed"), a group to which shrimp, crabs and lobsters belong. Another decapod, Palaeopalaemon newberryi, is of similar age and was found in Iowa.

"The shrimp from Oklahoma might, thus, be the oldest decapod on earth," Feldmann explained.

The description of the fossil is not only remarkable because of its age, but also due to its preservation. In this case, the muscles that once made up the tail part of the shrimp were preserved -- an extremely rare event among fossils. Feldmann said he knows why the muscles are still visible.

"When the animal died, it came to rest on the seafloor," he said. "The muscles then were preserved by a combination of acidic waters and a low oxygen content as the animal was buried rapidly."

The shrimp lived in deeper waters of the ocean where currents were too weak to destroy it. Other animals that were found in the same rock include the extinct ammonites, nautiloids, brachiopods and sponges.

source: http://www.foxnews.com