Macropenaeus is an extinct genus of prawn in the order Decapoda,[1] containing two species: the type species M. incertus, known from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon, and M. sidiaichensis known from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of Tunisia.[2][3]

Macropenaeus incertus
Temporal range: Barremian–Cenomanian
Macropenaeus incertus from Lebanon
Scientific classification
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Genus:
Macropenaeus

Garassino, 1994
Species:
M. incertus
Binomial name
Macropenaeus incertus
(Roger, 1946)
Synonyms

Penaeus incertus Roger, 1946

The tail, segmented carapace, and long legs are clearly defined. The long, slender antennae are nicely displayed. The fossil dendrobranchiate shrimp Macropenaeus was originally described from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) limestones of Hadjoula, northwest Lebanon. A new species, M. sidiaichensis sp. nov., was recovered from the Sidi Aïch Formation in the Northern Chotts Range, southern Tunisia. The Barremian occurrence of the genus in Tunisia suggests that Macropenaeus most likely originated in northern Africa and then migrated to Arabia in the Cenomanian. The association of the fossil shrimp with conchostracans, plant fragments, and fish indicates the interaction of freshwater and marine conditions that characterized the northern African margin as part of widespread coastal complex, paralic environments during the Barremian.


References edit

  1. ^ Sammy De Grave; N. Dean Pentcheff; Shane T. Ahyong; et al. (2009). "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Suppl. 21: 1–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  2. ^ "Macropenaeus". fossil.net. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  3. ^ Kamel Boukhalfa; Sergio Sudarsky; Walid Ben Ali; Rodney M. Feldmann; Carrie E. Schweitzer; Mohamed Soussi (2017). "New Early Cretaceous shrimp (Decapoda) from the Sidi Aïch Formation of the Northern Chotts Range, southern Tunisia: Taxonomy, biostratigraphy, and palaeoenvironmental implications". Cretaceous Research. 75: 162–172. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.04.005.