The fossils of Hoploparia gammaroides preserve much more of a lobster than its pincers alone. Researchers have described its hard upper shell, segmented abdomen, claws and even a feeding appendage from beside the mouth. These remains reveal an armoured, long-bodied crustacean that lived in the sea covering southern England during the early Eocene.

One fossil from Maylandsea is particularly interesting. It preserves a third maxilliped—one of the specialised limbs that lobsters use to handle material around their mouths. A structure involved in feeding has survived for millions of years, even though the animal’s actual meals have left no comparable evidence. Other fossils, including specimens from Aveley, preserve claws and parts of the body shell.

Together these remains allow palaeontologists to build a fuller picture of the animal. They also reveal how easily different lobsters can be confused when only fragments survive.

For much of its scientific history, H. gammaroides was treated as a broader collection of similar-looking fossils. Quayle’s re-examination showed that some belonged to other species. Rather than representing one dominant type of clawed lobster, the old collections had concealed a more varied group of animals living in the Eocene sea.