Photo: Mette Hofstedt and Sten Lennart Jakobsen.
KALK is looking for a complete crab fossil with claws and legs—and will reward the finder with a bounty of 5,000 kr.
It’s not hard to find fossilized crab parts at the Faxe Limestone Quarry. An intact specimen with all its claws and legs, on the other hand—that’s another story, which is why the KALK Museum is now offering a reward of 5,000 kr. for exactly that find.
The prize is offered in collaboration with Sten Lennart Jakobsen, curator emeritus at the museum and an expert on the geological period that can be explored at the Faxe Limestone Quarry and at KALK.
“We’ve been searching intensively for over 50 years and still haven’t found a complete specimen. Dead crabs simply became food for the other wildlife in the coral reef and were torn apart—which is why no intact crabs with claws and legs have ever been found. We really hope we’ll succeed,” says Sten Lennart Jakobsen.
The prize will be awarded to the first person to find and physically deliver a well-preserved, intact crab fossil to KALK, with all its claws and limbs intact. The fossil will be added to the museum’s collection.
The hunt is open to everyone
You don’t have to be an expert to participate. Faxe Kalkbrud is one of Denmark’s richest sites for Cretaceous-era fossils, and the museum offers guided fossil hunts where both children and adults can go on a treasure hunt with expert guidance.
The reward will be paid upon delivery of an intact specimen directly to the museum in 2026.
Book a guided fossil hunt with KALK here.