Carniolan crab (Tasadia carniolica) – From the Slovenian paleontological heritage

In the summer of 1880, the Carniolan naturalist and priest Simon Robič (1824–1897) searched for and collected fossils in the Tunjice Hills. While walking along the road between Kamnik and Tunjice, he found some interesting fossilised crab remains. He sent some of these specimens to Vienna, where they were examined by the palaeontologist Aleksander Bittner. Bittner identified the specimens as a new species, which he named Cancer carniolicus. Today, paleontologists and collectors know this Miocene crab species as the Carniolan crab, although its scientific name is Tasadia carniolica. Its remains are among the most recognisable and exceptional fossils on Slovenian territory.