Alabama Names Early Paleocene 'Saban' Crab

University of Alabama researchers described a new early Paleocene crab species, Costacopluma nicksabani (the “Saban crab”), from a rich fossil assemblage at the Mussel Creek/Pine Barren roadcut in Lowndes County, Alabama. The fossils date to about 65 million years ago — roughly 600,000–700,000 years after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction — and include hundreds to more than 1,000 decapod specimens, many dime-sized and curated by UA Museums with type material at the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The site yielded eight decapod species, including another new crab and a new burrowing shrimp, making it among the most diverse North American assemblages found so soon after the mass extinction. Costacopluma nicksabani belongs to the Retroplumidae; the genus has a fossil record spanning roughly 48–87 million years and the family still has living representatives, indicating survival and diversification on muddy seafloors after the asteroid event. The species was named to honor coach Nick Saban for his coaching achievements and his Nick's Kids Foundation, and the study was published Sept. 22 in Geodiversitas.