Achi news desk-
Its fossil was found in the same world-famous area where the Bearsden Shark was excavated in the early 1980s.
The shrimp has been given the name Tealliocaris weegie after a scientific paper identified it as a Glaswegian crustacean.
Its authors thought it would be appropriate to name the new species in honor of the people of Glasgow and the local dialect.
READ MORE: Dundee Contemporary Arts shortlisted for museum of the year
The paper was recently published in the journal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Earth and Environmental Science Transactions.
Dr Neil Clark, curator of palaeontology at The Hunterian and one of the authors of the paper, said: “It is quite rare that any fossil is recognized as a new species and particularly the fossil remains of a shrimp.
“I am particularly proud, as a Glaswegian myself, that we have been able to name the fossil shrimp Tealliocaris weegie.
“Named after the people of Glasgow, this must be one of the oldest Weegies at over 330 million years old.”
READ MORE: New museum ‘secures George Wyllie’s legacy’ at docks where he worked
Dr Andrew Ross, chief curator of palaeobiology at the National Museums of Scotland and second author of the paper, said: “This new species of crustacean, along with others recently collected from the Scottish Borders, now in the collections of the National Museums of Scotland, adds to our knowledge of life at the beginning of the Carboniferous period, 350-330 million years ago, when vertebrate animals were beginning to colonize the land.”
Professor Rob Ellam FRSE, emeritus professor at the University of Glasgow and editor of the journal Earth and Environmental Science Transactions, said: “This new species of fossil crustacean is basically a miniature fossil version of what we eat like scampi today.
“This paper shows that there is still great science to be done with fossils that can be found on our own doorstep.
“Furthermore, the naming of one of the new species T. weegie shows that in the serious world of professional palaeontology and scientific publishing there is still room for a welcome bit of light Glaswegian banter.”
