Decapod crustaceans from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain, with an account of new occurrences in Barremian-Aptian strata of the Maestrazgo Basin

Abstract

Decapod crustaceans are rare in Early Cretaceous invertebrate assemblages from the Iberian Peninsula; however, current knowledge does allow differences in taxonomic composition between different basins and subbasins to be recognised. In order to understand the distribution of Barremian–Aptian decapod crustaceans of Iberia better, seven new localities in the Galve subbasin (Maestrazgo Basin, north-east Spain) have been sampled. Seven taxa are here described, including the anomurans Cretacocalcinus fortis sp. nov. and Viapagurus gen. nov. (type species: Pagurus avellanedai Vía, 1951), one indeterminate axiidean, the astacidean Hoploparia sp., plus the brachyurans Ariecornibus sp., Pithonoton lluismariaorum Ossó, van Bakel, Ferratges-Kwekel and Moreno-Bedmar, 2018 and Palaeodromites pimientai sp. nov. Assemblages are characterised by low abundance, being found in formations that represent depositional settings ranging from shallow-marine platforms to deeper marine bottoms. Some taxa, such as V. avellanedai and P. lluismariaorum, are also known from other subbasins of the Maestrazgo Basin but, in general, most appear endemic, suggesting that regional changes in facies distribution may potentially have affected differences in taxonomic composition.