Palaeocambarus

Palaeocambarus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Barremian–Aptian
Specimen from the Yixian Formation of China
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Decapoda
Suborder:
Pleocyemata
Infraorder:
Astacidea
Superfamily:
Astacoidea
Family:
Cambaroididae
Genus:
†Palaeocambarus

Taylor et al., 1999
Type species
Astacus licenti
Van Straelen, 1928
Synonyms
  • Cricoidoscelus aethus Taylor et al., 1999
  • Astacus spinirostrius Imaizumi, 1938
  • Mongolarachne chaoyangensis Cheng et al., 2019

Palaeocambarus is an extinct genus of crayfish discovered in the Yixian Formation in China, with only a single species, P. licenti. It is one of the oldest known fossil crayfish.[1][2][3]

The genus Cricoidoscelosus is now considered to be a junior synonym.[1] It was initially believed to be Late Jurassic (Tithonian) in age,[3] but it is now confirmed to have been Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian) in age.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Crayfishes from the Jehol biota". Geodiversitas. 45 (24): 689–719. 2023.
  2. ^ a b Paul A. Selden; Alison N. Olcott; Matt R. Downen; Dong Ren; Chungkun Shih; Xiaodong Cheng (2019). "The supposed giant spider Mongolarachne chaoyangensis, from the Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China, is a crayfish" (PDF). Palaeoentomology. 2 (5): 515–522. doi:10.11646/palaeoentomology.2.5.15. S2CID 208124459.
  3. ^ a b Taylor, R.S., Schram, F.R. & Shen, Y.B. (1999) A new crayfish family (Decapoda: Astacida) from the Upper Jurassic of China, with a reinterpretation of other Chinese crayfish taxa, Paleontological Research, 3, 121–136.