Nota corta

 

First report of penaeid (Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeoidea) from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of the Tlayúa quarry, Tepexi de Rodríguez (Puebla, Central Mexico)

 

Primer reporte de penaeidos (Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeoidea) del Cretácico Inferior (Albiano) de la cantera de Tlayúa Tepexi de Rodríguez (Puebla, México Central)

 

Alessandro Garassino^1,*, Giovanni Pasini², Francisco J. Vega³

 

¹ Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Paleontologia, Corso Venezia 55, I-20121 Milano, Italia. *alegarassino@gmail.com

² Via Alessandro Volta 16, I-22070 Appiano Gentile (Como), Italia.

³ Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510 México, D.F., México.

 

Manuscript received: August 6, 2013.
Corrected manuscript received: August 14, 2013.
Manuscript accepted: August 16, 2013.

 

Abstract

The first penaeid from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of the Tlayúa quarry, Tepexi de Rodríguez (Puebla, Central Mexico) is here reported. The specimen has been tentatively assigned to the superfamily Penaeoidea Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815, for the lack of main diagnostic characters. Despite the incompleteness of the body, it is the second report of penaeid from the Lower Cretaceous of Mexico, increasing the scarce knowledge about the decapod assemblage of Tepexi de Rodríguez basin.

Keywords: Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeoidea, Lower Cretaceous, Mexico.

 

Resumen

Se reporta el primer penéido del Cretácico Inferior (Albiano) de la cantera Tlayúa quarry, Tepexi de Rodríguez (Puebla, México). El espécimen ha sido tentativamente asignado a la superfamilia Penaeoidea Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815, dada la carencia de caracteres diagnósticos principales. A pesar de que el cuerpo se encuentra incompleto, se trata del segundo reporte de penéido del Cretácico Inferior de México, lo cual incrementa el escaso conocimiento que se tiene sobre la composición de decápodos de la cuenca de Tepexi de Rodríguez.

Palabras clave: Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeoidea, Cretácico Inferior, México.

 

1. Introduction

The Tlayúa quarry near Tepexi de Rodríguez is a famous Albian fossilifeorus locality in the Puebla State, Central Mexico (Figure 1). Fossils are diverse and well preserved in red lithographic limestones. Algae, fungi, plants, cnidarians, mollusks, annelids, arthropods, echinoderms, fishes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles, and pterosaurs have been reported from the Tlayúa Formation (see Applegate et al., 2006, for stratigraphy, paleoenvironment and floral/faunal updated list), considered as a Lagerstätten by Espinosa-Arrubarrena and Applegate (1995).

The Tlayúa Formation is a limestone sequence of 300 m, subdivided in Lower, Middle and Upper Members (Pantoja-Alor, 1992). The Middle Member (approximately 50 m thick) represents the most fossiliferous unit of finely laminated micritic limestone of yellow-brown color, with bedding planes defined by red hematitic layers. Belemnites and ammonites indicate a middle to late Albian age for this unit (Seibertz and Buitrón, 1987; Buitrón and Malpica-Cruz, 1987).

The original paleoenvironmental interpretation for the Tlayúa Formation was of a shallow, restricted lagoon with anaerobic conditions and cyclic periods of freshwater influence (Applegate, 1987; Espinosa-Arrubarrena and Applegate, 1995). An open marine basin has also been proposed by Kashiyama et al. (2004), who supposed that the sediments were dominated by storms and bottom waters had restricted circulation. Applegate et al. (2006) considered that this model does not explain the presence of shallow water elements such as algal mats, and the presence of freshwater and terrestrial elements such as insects, arachnids, and some reptiles. Feldmann et al. (1998) and Vega et al. (2005) discussed the paleoenvironmental significance of crustaceans to support the shallow lagoon model. A shallow nearshore environment has been confirmed by Suárez et al. (2009).

The typical red color of the fossiliferous limestone planes was interpreted as a result of authigenic hematite deposition, precipitated by decaying organic matter and trapped by algal mats (Espinosa-Arrubarrena and Applegate, 1995). Kashiyama et al. (2004) suggested, however, that the hematite was deposited secondarily during diagenesis. As observed by Espinosa-Arrubarrena and Applegate (1995), irregular topographic relief of fossils is completely covered by the hematite coat. Thus, the hypothesis for hematite being suspended in a shallow water column and its deposition propitiated by chemical reactions in turn of decomposing corpses and organic matter seems more reasonable.

 

2. Decapod crustaceans from the Tlayúa quarry

To date, only three decapod crustaceans are reported from this locality.

Feldmann et al. (1998) reported Protaegla minuscula Feldmann, Vega, Applegate and Bishop, 1998 (Aeglidae Dana, 1852) and Tepexicarcinus tlayuaensis Feldmann, Vega, Applegate and Bishop, 1998 (Dorippidae MacLeay, 1838). Later Vega et al. (2005), based on more complete specimens, made a review of decapod crustaceans from Tepexi, reporting Pagurus sp. as part of the crustacean assemblage.

Based on the data known to date, penaeid shrimps have never been reported from this locality.

 

3. Material

One incomplete specimen in lateral view, lacking of the carapace and tail fan, preserved as a tiny imprint partially covered by hematite. The specimen has been tentatively assigned to the superfamily Penaeoidea Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815.

The study specimen is deposited in the paleontological collection of the Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano (MSNM).

Abbreviations – P1-P5: pereiopods 1 to 5; s1-s6: pleonal somites 1 to 6.

 

4. Systematic Paleontology

Order Decapoda Latreille, 1802
Suborder Dendrobranchiata Bate, 1888
Superfamily Penaeoidea Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815
Family, genus and species indeterminate
Figure 2

Material and measurements: one incomplete specimen in lateral view (MSNM i27860 – body total lenght approximately 30 mm).

Description: Carapace. — Not preserved. Pleon. — Subrectangular pleonal s1-s5 dorsally rounded, subequal in size; pleonal s6 longer than the previous ones; smooth s1-s6 terga and pleurae; telson not preserved. Cephalic appendages. — Not preserved. Thoracic appendages. — P1-P3 chelate, increasing in size; slender P1-P3 articles, with elongate carpus and merus and bearing thin minute chelae; very slender elongate P4-P5 articles; P4-P5 longer than P1-P3. Pleonal appendages. — Well-developed slender basal segment of pleopods with thin elongate flagella; uropodal exopod and endopod not preserved.

Discussion: The lack of the carapace makes difficult to observe the main morphological characters used to establish the systematic position of the studied specimen. However, the P1-P3 chelate and s2 pleura not overlapping those of pleonal s1 and s3 could suggest its assignment to the superfamily Penaeoidea Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815. Despite the incompleteness of the body, the study specimen represents the second record of penaeidean from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of Mexico, after the report of Aeger hidalguensis Feldmann, Vega, Martinez-Lopez, González-Rodríguez, González-León and Fernández-Barajas, 2007, from the Muhi quarry in Hidalgo State (Feldmann et al., 2007). The P1-P3 structure and the long swimming pleopods probably indicate pseudonectonic forms, and points to a detritus feeding style-life.

 

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Leon F. Alvarez (Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM) for kind support in the drawing up of the map; Guenter Schweigert and Torrey Nyborg for careful review and criticism.

 

References

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