Potamon Crab Fossil (F)- Denizli Basin | River Walkers Minerals

This is a striking, cavern-like Potamon crab fossil preserved inside a deep travertine chamber from the Denizli Basin of southwestern Turkey. The crab is heavily mineralized, with its carapace and claws emerging in deep, honey-amber tones from thick, rounded botryoidal formations. The fossil sits naturally tucked beneath a textured travertine ceiling, giving this piece an incredible sense of depth and shelter.

The mineralization on this piece is especially vivid, forming thick, sugary, crystalline coatings over every contour of the crab and surrounding chamber. Under UV light, the travertine fluoresces brightly and then continues to glow with a soft phosphorescent afterglow, making the internal textures even more dramatic in the dark. Nothing has been shaped, carved, or altered. The crab remains exactly as it was found!

Travertine deposits in this region formed in warm, mineral-rich spring systems during the Pleistocene era (approx 400,000 years old). Those same waters rapidly coated and preserved freshwater Potamon crabs in extraordinary detail, often creating these cave-like pockets where the crab appears naturally entombed mid-rest.

This block displays powerfully from any angle, and is self-standing!  

Details:

• Species: Potamon sp. (freshwater crab)
• Formation: Travertine (UV reactive & phosphorescent)
• Locality: Denizli Basin, southwestern Turkey
• Age: Pleistocene era (approx 400,000 years old)
• Dimensions: 5 × 4 in (approx. 12.7 × 10.1 cm)
• Weight: 1.9 lbs (approx. 862 g)