Original paper

The Cretaceous crab Rathbunopon: revision, a new species and new localities

Klompmaker, Adiël A.; Artal, Pedro; Gulisano, Giuseppe

Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen Band 260 Heft 2 (2011), p. 191 - 202

published: May 1, 2011

DOI: 10.1127/0077-7749/2011/0170

BibTeX file

ArtNo. ESP155026002008, Price: 29.00 €

Download preview PDF Buy as PDF

Abstract

The crab genus Rathbunopon is exclusively known from Cretaceous rocks, mainly from Europe. Here two new European localities are presented: one in the Albian/Cenomanian of northern Spain yielding well-preserved specimens of Rathbunopon obesum, and one from the lower Aptian at the German-Austrian border yielding Rathbunopon schrattenkalkensis n. sp. Both are found in association with coral reefs. Based upon a revision of the genus, we place Rathbunopon within the Prosopidae. Furthermore, Homolopsis tuberculata is transferred to Rathbunopon. Placement of 'Rathbunopon' atherfieldensis in Rathbunopon is not tenable; we place it here within the Homoloidea in open nomenclature. With the addition of R. tuberculatum, Rathbunopon is interpreted to have evolved in the Hauterivian and diversified in the Albian/Cenomanian. Whereas R. obesum resided mainly in reefal settings, Rathbunopon species lived in a variety of environments and are suggested to be generalists.

Keywords

cretaceous • decapod • spain • austria • germany • aptian • albian • cenomanian • brachyura • rathbunopon