Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum

Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum No. 47

Recently, a PhD candidate, Jessica N. Tashman, at Kent State University conducted a study of grooming behavior as demonstrated in fossil crabs (Tashman et al., 2008). She recognized areas on the carapace of the crabs that could be cleaned by the animals and areas that were beyond their reach. The study helped recognize living and post-mortem infestations of epibionts. The study would not have been possible without the contribution of extremely well-preserved fossil crabs (Fig. 1) made available by Bruce Thiel from Portland, Oregon. The provenance of the specimens was well documented, and the meticulous preparation permitted careful documentation of the biotic interactions. To assure long-term care of the specimens, referred to as T185 and T246 in Thiel’s collection and in Tashman et al. (2008), the material has been deposited in the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Hillsboro, Oregon, with catalogue numbers RM8623 and RM8624, respectively.