Exceptional preservation of comma shrimp from a mid-Cretaceous Lagerstatte of Colombia, and the origins of crown Cumacea.

ABSTRACT: Mesozoic rocks with exceptional preservation of marine arthropods are known worldwide but largely restricted to mid-high latitudes. The scarcity of assemblages with exceptional preservation in low, tropical latitudes greatly limits our understanding of the origins of several modern groups and the evolution of tropical biotas through time. Here, we report the oldest crown Cumacea, or 'comma' shrimp (Arthropoda: Eumalacostraca: Peracarida) with modern familial affinities, from a new mid-Cretaceous (95-90 Ma) Lagerstätte in tropical South America. Cumaceans have one of the poorest fossil records among marine arthropods, despite today being abundant and speciose benthic organisms associated with fine-grained sediments with high fossilization potential. Eobodotria muisca gen. et sp. nov.

SUBMITTER: Luque J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6939266 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature