Eocarcinus
| Eocarcinus Temporal range:
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| Holotype (top) and paratype (bottom) specimens | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Eocarcinidae Withers, 1932
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| Genus: | Eocarcinus Withers, 1932
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| Species: | E. praecursor
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| Binomial name | |
| Eocarcinus praecursor Withers, 1932
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Eocarcinus praecursor is a
stem-group crab.[2]
Distribution
It lived during the early
Lower Jurassic),[3] and has been found in rocks at two sites in the United Kingdom – Mickelton Tunnel (near Aston Magna), Gloucestershire and Runswick Bay, Yorkshire.[4]
Description
In many of its characters, it represents a transitional stage between the Glypheoidea and the Middle Jurassic crabs in the Prosopidae.[3] Since its ancestors were long-tailed decapods, and its successors were short-tailed crabs, Eocarcinus has been described as "the lobster who decided to become a crab".[5] Previously considered to be the oldest known true crab, a 2010 revision concluded that Eocarcinus could not be accommodated among the Brachyura, and was instead transferred to the Anomura.[6] However, a 2020 reanalysis found that it was again the earliest known stem-group crab, but that it had not undergone the process of carcinisation.[2]
References
- Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Suppl. 21: 1–109. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-06-06.
- ^ PMID 32891896.
- ^ .
- ^ Danièle Guinot; Marcos Tavares (2001). "Une nouvelle famille de Crabes du Crétacé, et la notion de Podotremata Guinot, 1977 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura)" (PDF). Zoosystema. 23 (3): 507–546.
- .