Examination of all known specimens of decapod crustaceans from the Fox Hills Formation has resulted in recognition of five species and three distinctly different forms of pereiopods that cannot be assigned to a recognized taxon with certainty. Callichirus waagei n. sp. is proposed for a callianassid claw preserved within an Ophiomorpha burrow. Hoploparia sp. and Raninella oaheensis Bishop, 1978, are reported from the formation for the first time, and the cheliped of the latter species is noted, also for the first time. Latheticocarcinus shapiroi Bishop, 1988, the most common species of decapod in the formation, is re-described; the lateral flanks of this homolid crab are recognized for the first time, and the carapace is reconstructed. Necrocarcinus siouxensis Feldmann, Awotua and Welshenbaugh, 1976, is noted, but no new specimens were studied. All the decapods were preserved within concretions and all but one specimen of Hoploparia were disarticulated elements, suggesting that they may have been molted remains. Cuticle was well preserved and thin section examination of the lamellar structure of Hoploparia cuticle confirmed that, although thoroughly altered chemically, details of lamellar structure are retained.
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1 October 2006
Decapod Crustaceans from the Maastrichtian Fox Hills Formation
Robert S. Crawford,
Rodney M. Feldmann,
David A. Waugh,
Brian M. Kelley,
Joel G. Allen
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Callichirus
cuticle microstructure
Hoploparia
Latheticocarcinus
new species
pereiopods
Raninella