Early Cretaceous (Berriasian)

Yixian Formation

Huangbangi Valley, Beipiao, Liaoning Province, China

Ultra-rare 70mm notostracan arthropod on 110mm slab.

Arthropod. Crustacean.

Someone said this is what a “sea monkey” is and it’s not that far from the truth.  Sea monkeys are actually a kind of brine shrimp.  Weichangops belongs to a different order of crustaceans, the Notostraca, which includes the tadpole shrimp still living today. Take a look at this short video produced by the National Park Service about the living species called Triops:

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notostraca