Cretaceous Crustacea from plattenkalk deposits of Mexico

The Crustacea preserved in Cretaceous plattenkalk deposits from Mexico is revisited. New findings include isopods, palinurid lobsters, and crabs. Based on new material available, descriptions of previously reported species are extended. High diversity and abundance of Peracarida from the upper Aptian Sierra Madre El Espinal quarries (Chiapas) are synthesized, along with detailed images of a previously described palinurid species. The famous laminar red limestone quarries of the upper Albian Tlayua Formation, Tepexi de Rodriguez (Puebla), yielded a new lobster and a pagurid, and nearly 100 complimentary crab specimens of Tepexicarcinus Feldmann, Vega, Applegate and Bishop, 1998, offer more information on its morphology and ontogeny. Arthropoda from the upper Albian El Doctor Formation, Muhi quarries (Hidalgo), include three new incomplete lobsters, an additional specimen of the penaeid Aeger hidalguensis Feldmann et al.2007 (whose morphology is compared with the A. tipularis () from the Upper Jurassic of Germany), and new specimens of an enigmatic Thylacocephala. From the Cenomanian Siera Madre Formation, El Chango quarries Chiapas, we illustrate shrimp, a poorly preserved phyllosoma larva, and a new brachyuran crab. The diverse and abundant crustaceans from the Turonian-Cenomanian El Rosario quarry (Muzquiz, Coahuila) are revisited, with preliminary interpretations of previously reported raninoids.

Automated summary

This study revisits the Crustacea preserved in Cretaceous plattenkalk deposits from Mexico, revealing new findings including isopods, palinurid lobsters, and crabs. Descriptions of previously reported species are extended based on new material available. These findings provide insights into the morphology and ecology of these fossilized animals.