Fossil decapods from the Cretaceous (late Albian) of Tarrant County, Texas

摘要

Study of fossil decapods from the Albian Pawpaw Shale, Cretaceous, of Tarrant County, Texas, has yielded five new brachyuran species, three new genera, and one new family, Quadratoplanidae n. fam., Quadratoplanus primitivus n. fam. n. gen. n. sp., Belos trispinae n. gen. n. sp., and Ariecornibus schweitzerae n. gen. n. sp. Along with these new taxa, four new anomuran combinations have resulted, Munida limonitica, M. cretacea, M. cobbani, and M. tomitai. Some of these taxa represent the first occurence of their family, or the first description of ventral morphology in the fossil record. Addition of some of the studied taxa to the previously known decapod records, brings a range and paleogeographic extension to a restricted number of species. The remarkable state of preservation of the specimens described herein, and previously published material, raises the question of a decapod Lagerst?tten.