Abstract

ARTAL, Pedro; OSSO, Àlex  and  DOMINGUEZ, José Luis. Archaeoportunus isabenensis, a new genus and species of portunoid crab (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the lower Eocene of Huesca (Spain). Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2013, vol.65, n.2, pp.307-317. ISSN 1405-3322.

Crabs recovered from marly strata of the upper Roda Formation (lower Cuisian, Ypresian) at Isábena (Huesca, Spain) exhibit a clear set of characters, mainly in chelipeds and dorsal carapace that favour their assignment to the superfamily Portunoidea, and confirm a close relationship with the family Portunidae. However, the presence of important and easily distinguishing features, such as the strongly marked dorsal ridges or notably narrow sternum, lead us to propose a new genus and species, Archeoportunus isabenensis n. gen., n. sp., and a new family, the Archaeoportunidae n. fam. The ventral features of the new taxon, particularly the fairly narrow sternum which notably becomes even narrower posteriorly, the strongly downturned sternites 1-4 bearing strong swellings, and the general adaptation of sternum, abdomen and pereiopods, substantiate the basal condition of the new taxon within the Portunoidea and also contributes to current knowledge of evolutionary issues within that group.

Keywords : Crustacea; Decapoda; Portunoidea; Archaeoportunus; Archaeoportunidae; new family; Cuisian (Ypresian); Spain.

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