Goniochele angulata
Goniochele angulata
Common name
Crab
Fossil group
Crustaceans
Order
Decapoda
Family
Goniochelidae
Genus
Goniochele
Taxonomic status
Accepted
Geological age
Ypresian
Summary
Goniochele angulata was an unusual extinct true crab with a strongly angular body shape. It lived on the seabed and was probably an opportunistic feeder, using its claws to handle small animals, carrion and other food found among the sediment.
Its very distinctive carapace shows that London Clay crabs were not simply variations on one basic form. Different lineages had already evolved a wide range of shapes and lifestyles, making the Eocene crab fauna much more varied than a casual glance at isolated fossils might suggest.
Quick Identification
Look for: an angular, strongly regionalised crab carapace with the distinctive Goniochele outline; complete side margins and dorsal grooves are especially important.
Diagnostic Features
- Carapace outline distinctly angular rather than smoothly rounded.
- Dorsal regions are strongly defined by grooves.
- Front and lateral margins contribute to a characteristic geometric outline.
- Carapace differs from broad smooth portunoids by its pronounced regional architecture.
- Species-level identification is strongest from a nearly complete carapace, not an isolated chela.
Fossil Details
Typical size
Carapace centimetre-scale; exact species-wide range is not established.
Fossil material
Carapace, Claw / Chela
Preservation
Breakage of the angular margins can make the carapace appear much more ordinary. Internal moulds may preserve grooves but lose the fine cuticular surface.
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
London Clay Formation
Thames Group
Synonyms & Previous Names
Goniochela angulata
References
- Carrie E. Schweitzer; Rodney M. Feldmann. (2011). New fossil Brachyura (Decapoda: Homoloidea, Dorippoidea, Carpilioidea) from the United Kingdom. Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum, 37, 1–11 View reference
- J. S. H. Collins; C. J. T. Mellish; A. J. Ross; P. R. Crabb; S. K. Donovan. (2020). A guide to the fossil Decapoda (Crustacea: Axiidea, Anomura, Brachyura) of the British Isles. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 131(1), 19–50 View reference
- Thomas Bell. (1857). A monograph of the fossil malacostracous Crustacea of Great Britain. Part I. Crustacea of the London Clay. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society, 10, i–viii, 1–44. Palaeontographical Society, London View reference
Last Reviewed
15 August 2026
Reviewed by
Sam Harris