Early Cretaceous (late Barremian) Crustacea from Puebla, Mexico

Abstract The oldest record of fossil decapods, associated to reefs from Mexico is reported. Six species of Anomala and brachyuran crustaceans, collected from limestones of the upper Barremian Zapotitlan Formation, Puebla, Mexico: Luisogalathea cretacea (Stenzel, 1945); Eomunidopsis limonitica (Stenzel, 1945); Paragalathea ruizi Van Straelen, 1940; Goniodromites laevis (Van Straelen, 1940); Distefania sp.; and Cretamaja klompmakeri Gonzalez-Leon and Moreno-Bedmar, new species, are reported. This assemblage bears similarities with crustaceans reported from the upper Albian of the Pawpaw Shale of Texas and to other reef crustaceans from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe. This is first record in the Americas for some genera. The here reported specimens are found associated to sponges, corals, mollusks and bryozoans, that suggest a shallow marine reef environment for this region of Central Mexico during late Barremian times. All of the specimens represent isolated dorsal carapaces, some with evidence of little transport.