Palaeophoberus is an extinct genus of decapod crustaceans that lived from the Aalenian to Tithonian stages of the Jurassic period. Its fossils have been found in Germany and France.

Palaeophoberus
Temporal range: Aalenian-Tithonian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Stenochiridae
Genus: Palaeophoberus
Glaessner, 1932
Type species
Stenochirus suevicus
Quenstedt, 1867
Species
  • P. suevicus Quenstedt, 1867
  • P. portlandicus Roger & Lapparent, 1944
Synonyms
P. suevicus synonymy
  • Stenochirus suevicus Quenstedt, 1867

Taxonomic history

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The first known fossils of Palaeophoberus were initially assigned to another genus; Friedrich August von Quenstedt named the species Stenochirus suevicus in 1867 based on remains collected from Aalenian-aged deposits in Reutlingen, Germany.[1] 65 years later in 1932, Martin Glaessner determines that these remains differ significantly from the type specimen of Stenochirus and thus belong in a separate genus, which he named Palaeophoberus, with P. suevicus as its type and only species. The generic name means "ancient Phoberus", as Glaessner believed it was related to Acanthacaris (formerly known as Phoberus).[2]

A second species was assigned to Palaeophoberus in 1944. Named P. portlandicus, its remains were collected from Tithonian-aged deposits in Hannaches, France. The specific name references the Portlandian stage, a term used in the past which corresponds to the Tithonian.[3]

Classification

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In his establishment of the genus, Glaessner (1932) considered Palaeophoberus to be related to the extant Acanthacaris, placing both genera in the family Nephropidae.[2] Later in 1969, Glaessner named the group containing Acanthacaris and Palaeophoberus as the subfamily Neophoberinae.[4] The idea that these two genera were related persisted for decades, with several subsequent authors following this classification and even proposing Acanthacaris is a descendant of Palaeophoberus.[5][6]

In 1997, phylogenetic analysis carried out by Tsudy & Babcock found that Acanthacaris was not actually related to Palaeophoberus, thus the latter genus was moved out of Neophoberinae and reassigned to the family Chilenophoberidae.[7] Karasawa et al. (2013) later declared that Chilenophoberidae is a paraphyletic grouping, synonymizing it with Stenochiridae, and reassigning all chilenophoberid genera (including Palaeophoberus) as stenochirids. The following cladogram shows the placement of Palaeophoberus within Stenochiridae according to the study:[8]

Stenochiridae

References

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  1. ^ Quenstedt, Fr. Aug. von; Quenstedt, Fr Aug von (1885). Handbuch der Petrefaktenkunde (3. Umgearb. und verm. Aufl. ed.). Tübingen: H. Laupp.
  2. ^ a b Glaessner, Martin F. (1932-05-01). "Zwei ungenügend bekannte mesozoische Dekapodenkrebse". Paläontologische Zeitschrift (in German). 14 (1): 108–121. doi:10.1007/BF03041621.
  3. ^ Roger, J.; Lapparent, A.F. (1944). "Une nouvelle espèce de crustacé décapode Palaeophoberus portlandicus, découverte dans le Portlandien du Pays de Bray". Bulletin de la Société géologique de France. 14: 365–374.
  4. ^ Moore, R. C.; Brooks, H. K.; Glaessner, M. F.; Rolfe, W. D. Ian; Manning, Raymond B.; Holthuis, L. B.; Hessler, Robert R. (1969-01-01). "Part R, Arthropoda 4, vol. 1 & 2, ch. 4, p. 295-566". Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.17161/dt.v0i0.5629. ISSN 2153-621X.
  5. ^ Hans, Mertin (1941-06-22). "Decapode Krebse aus dem subhercynen und Braunschweiger Emscher und Untersenon sowie Bemerkungen ueber einige verwandte Formen in der Oberkreide". Nova Acta Leopoldina. 10: 1–264. S2CID 222413128.
  6. ^ Burukovsky, R.N.; Ckreko, B.T. (1986). "Archaic lobsters". Nature, Moscow. 12: 93–95.
  7. ^ Tshudy, D; Babcock, L.E. (1997-01-01). "Morphology-based phylogenetic analysis of the clawed lobsters (family Nephropidae and the new family Chilenophoberidae)". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 17 (2): 253–263. doi:10.1163/193724097X00288. ISSN 0278-0372.
  8. ^ Karasawa, Hiroaki; Schweitzer, Carrie E.; Feldmann, Rodney M. (2013-01-01). "Phylogeny and systematics of extant and extinct lobsters". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 33 (1): 78–123. doi:10.1163/1937240X-00002111. ISSN 0278-0372.
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