06/09/2026
The Pygocephalus saga continues! Block five have beat the average one-animal-per-two-weeks trend and found SIX Pygocephalus specimens! Interestingly all from the band of ironstone concretions at the base of a fossilised river channel. The specimen recovered today by student is extra special as it's a girl! The first female recovered of this species! We know it's female because of the presence of a series of flaps preserved on its underside called oostegites, this part of the anatomy is thought to act as a marsupium, allowing the females to keep their eggs after laying close to the body so they could brood them for longer. This feature is what connects them to crustaceans like woodlice rather than similar looking shrimp and crayfish which lack these anatomical features.
