[1] The generic name is derived from the Emu Bay Shale, the deposit where the species was collected, and the Latin word caris meaning shrimp.

The specific name fava is from the Latin word for honeycomb, for the ornamentation on its pygidial axis.

The semi-circular headshield (or cephalon) is about ½× as long as the tailshield (pygidium), and in between them four short thoracic body segments (somites).

The axis in Emucaris is about one fifth of the pygidium and has a pattern of polygons of approximately equal area.

Fossils of E. fava were collected from the Emu Bay Shale of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.