First record of a polychelid lobster (Crustacea: Decapoda: Coleiidae) from the Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) of Germany

Günter Schweigert^1,*, Frank A. Wittler²

¹ Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany.
² Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Erbprinzenstraße 13, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany.

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Abstract

A single specimen of Coleia brodiei (Woodward, 1866) preserved in a limestone concretion is recorded from the early Pliensbachian Davoei Zone of north-western Germany. It represents the first record of polychelid lobsters from the Pliensbachian of Central Europe and expands the still poorly known palaebiogeographic distribution of this species, previously recorded only from England. This species inhabited littoral, soft-bottom environments in the Sub-boreal Jurassic Sea.

Keywords: Crustacea, palaeobiogeography, preservation, Jurassic, Germany, England.