Abstract |
A new anomuran decapod, Megachela frickhingeri n.g.n.sp., is described from the Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone of Eichstaett and Zandt (Lower Tithonian, Hybonotum Zone).It is characterized by an extremely enlarged dactylus in the 1st perelopods.Together with Magila, Etallonia, and some Recent representatives of Axiidae, Megachela n.g.shares a transverse suture of the uropod exopodites (diaeresis) which is a primitive character.A single, fragmentary record of a chela from the Lower Toarcian of the Southern Alps points to a very early evolution of the genus Megachela |