Abstract:

Decapod crustaceans are widespread in Cretaceous rocks of the mainly marine Mesozoic Neuquen, and Austral or Magallanes basins of continental Argentina as well as in western Antarctica. The Glypheidae are represented by Glyphea sp. from the Neocomian of the Neuquen basin and G. oculata Woods from the Santonian of the Austral basin. Meyerella rapax (Harbort) is described from the late Valanginian-early Hauterivian of the Neuquen basin. Palaeastacus terraereginae (Etheridge), P. sussexiensis (Mantell), Eryma sp. cf. E. sulcata Harbort and Enoploclytia sp. represent the erymids. Hoploparia longimana (Sowerby), H. antarctica Wilckens, H. stokesi (Weller), H. arbei sp. nov., and H. sp. A and B are also described and figured. Callianassids are represented by three species: Protocallianassa patagonica Aguirre Urreta from the early Cretaceous of the Austral basin, Callianassa meridionalis Ball from the late Cretaceous of Antarctica and C. burckhardti Bohm from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary of the Neuquen basin, associated with trace fossils of the ichogenus Thalassinoides. Four paleogeographic reconstructions from the late Jurassic to the early Tertiary depict the stratigraphic and geographic distributions of the genera studied. -from Author