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Late Eocene Decapod Crustacea from North Westland, South Island, New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Rodney M. Feldmann  and
Phillip A. Maxwell
Rodney M. Feldmann
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242
Phillip A. Maxwell
Affiliation:
New Zealand Geological Survey, P.O. Box 30 368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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Abstract

Eight species of brachyuran decapod crustaceans are recorded from coastal outcrops of Island Sandstone between Perpendicular Point and Punakaiki, Westland, New Zealand. The fauna consists of three raninids—Laeviranina pororariensis (Glaessner), L. keyesi n. sp., Lyreidus bennetti n. sp.; two portunids—Rhachiosoma granuliferum (Glaessner), Pororaria eocenica Glaessner; a goneplacid—Carcinoplax temikoensis n. sp.; and two majids—Leptomithrax griffini n. sp., Notomithrax allani n. sp. Together, they form the most diverse brachyuran assemblage yet described from New Zealand. The decapods are preserved in unusual elliptical masses, with their long axes typically parallel to bedding, containing superbly preserved cuticle often surrounded by well-formed fecal pellets, probably of decapod origin. The accumulations are interpreted to be mechanical concentrations within depressions produced by decapods or associated spatangoid echinoids. Although seven of the species have been recorded only from the Island Sandstone, Rhachiosoma granuliferum (Glaessner) is now known to occur in the correlative deep-water facies of the Kaiata Formation in North Westland, as well as in the Tapui Sandstone, North Otago (middle Eocene), and from coeval rocks at Snowdrift Quarry, southeast Otago. The raninids suggest comparison with congeneric forms from Snowdrift Quarry and the Tapui Sandstone, as well as with the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica. Based upon associated foraminiferans, a Kaiatan–Runangan (late Eocene) age is assigned to this fauna. The occurrences of Carcinoplax, Leptomithrax, and Notomithrax represent paleobiogeographic and stratigraphic records for the genera.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 64 , Issue 5 , September 1990 , pp. 779 - 797
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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