AToL

National Science Foundation Grant EF-0531670, Collaborative Research: AToL: Morphological and Molecular Phylogeny of the Decapod Crustaceans, 2005-2010, Rodney M. Feldmann, Carrie E. Schweitzer

National Science Foundation Grant EF-0531670, Collaborative Research: AToL: Morphological and Molecular Phylogeny of the Decapod Crustaceans, 2006-2007, Rodney M. Feldmann, Carrie E. Schweitzer, REU Supplement

National Science Foundation Grant EF-0531670, Collaborative Research: AToL: Morphological and Molecular Phylogeny of the Decapod Crustaceans, 2006-2007, Rodney M. Feldmann, Carrie E. Schweitzer, International Supplement for Argentina

Publications

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Project Summary

Containing more than 15,000 species, the decapods are the most species rich group of the Crustacea, including shrimp (Caridea, Stenopodidea, and Thalassinidea), crabs (Anomala and Brachyura), and crayfish and lobsters (Astacidea and Achelata). Furthermore, many extant families have well-documented fossil records. Accordingly. the decapods are the subject of more published papers than all other crustacean groups combined, due in part to their species richness, economic importance, and morphologic diversity. Finally, decapods are the quintessential group in the public eye with nearly everyone having a decapod experience in their youth. Given the prevalence of decapods in the public and scientific mind, understanding the evolutionary history of this significant crustacean group is fundamental.

Who's involved at KSU?

	Dr. Rodney M. Feldmann, KSU, paleontology
	Dr. Carrie E. Schweitzer, KSU, paleontology
	David A. Waugh, Ph.D. Candidate, paleontology

Who's involved at other institutions?

	Dr. Keith A. Crandall, Brigham Young University, molecular phylogeny
	Dr. Darryl L. Felder, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, molecular and morphological systematics
	Dr. Joel (Jody) W. Martin, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, morphological systematics

First Decapod AToL Planning Meeting, March 2006, Smithsonian Institution

Standing, L to R: Dale Tshudy, Rafael Lemaitre, Regina Wetzer, Rafael, Darryl Felder, Sammy De Grave

Sitting, L to R: Jody Martin, David Waugh, Rod Feldmann, Carrie Schweitzer, Keith Crandall, Megan Porter

Goals of Grant

At KSU, we will focus on the evolutionary history of the Decapoda. We will also focus on morphological characteristics that can be used in phylogeny and to classify the various groups within the Decapoda. This means that we will study fossils from museums worldwide, but especially in Europe and the USA, to produce a dataset of features that define groups within the Decapoda.

We also want to know when each group within the Decapoda evolved, based upon the fossil record. This can be compared against estimates yielded by molecular clock studies.

This specimen of Jakobsenius belongs to an extinct family, the Palaeoxanthopsidae Schweitzer, 2003. Extinct families pose special problems because they have no extant congeners to which they can be directly compared, if, as in this specimen, the sternum and abdomen are missing.

One aspect of the decapods that has not been adequately studied for its value in systematics and phylogeny is the nature of the cuticle. Decapod cuticle is quite variable in the microstructure and microornamentation of the surface and the degree and pattern of calcification. It is hypothesized that these patterns will have phylogenetic value. David Waugh will focus on this aspect of the study.

SEM Photomicrograph of the cuticle of the extant brachyuran Metacarcinus novaezelandiae.

Many fossils are sufficiently preserved that aspects of the sternum and abdomen can be used for classification. This specimen of Pulalius vulgaris displays a well-preserved sternum that identifies it as belonging to the Tumidocarcinidae Schweitzer, 2005, an extinct family related to the modern Xanthoidea.

These fossils, members of the Prosopidae, are among the earliest known brachyurans, or crabs, with a Jurassic fossil record. Their classification is in a state of flux, because many of the types are missing or possibly have been destroyed. Evaluation of their systematic position is critical in understanding the evolution and radiation of the Brachyura.

AToL Publications

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Schweitzer, C. E., R. M. Feldmann, and H. Karasawa. 2007. Revision of the Carcineretidae Beurlen, 1930 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunoidea) and remarks on the Portunidae Rafinesque, 1815. Annals of Carnegie Museum, 15-37.

Feldmann, R. M., and C. E. Schweitzer. 2007. Sexual dimorphism in fossil and extant Raninidae (Decapoda: Brachyura). Annals of Carnegie Museum, 39-52.

Feldmann, R. M., P. M. O’Connor, N. J. Stevens, M. D. Gottfried, E. M. Roberts, S. Ngasala, E. L. Rasmusson, and S. Kapilima. 2007. A new freshwater crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamonautidae) from the Paleogene of Tanzania, Africa. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie – Abhandlungen, 244: 71-78.

Schweitzer, C. E., R. M. Feldmann, and I. R. Lazăr. 2007. Decapods from Jurassic (Oxfordian) sponge megafacies of Dobrogea, Romania and reconsideration of Nodoprosopon Beurlen, 1928. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie – Abhandlungen, 244: p. 99-113.

Feldmann, R. M., R.-Y. Li, and C. E. Schweitzer. 2008 [imprint 2007]. A new family, genus, and species of crab (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Manitoba, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 44: 1741-1752.

Karasawa, H., C. E. Schweitzer, and R. M. Feldmann. 2008. Revision of the Portunoidea Rafinesque, 1815 (Decapoda: Brachyura) with emphasis on the fossil genera and families. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 28: 82-127.

Schweitzer, C. E., J. Velez-Juarbe, M. Martinez, A. C. Hull, R. M. Feldmann, and H. Santos. 2008. New Cretaceous and Cenozoic Decapoda (Crustacea: Thalassinidea, Brachyura) from Puerto Rico, United States Territory. Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum, 34: 1-15. Undergraduate Student Involvement

Schweitzer, C. E., and R. M. Feldmann. 2008 [imprint 2007]. A new classification for some Jurassic Brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Homolodromioidea): families Goniodromitidae Beurlen, 1932 and Tanidromitidae new family. Senckenbergiana lethaea, 87: 119-156.

Feldmann, R. M., C. E. Schweitzer, P. A. Maxwell, and B. M. Kelley. 2008. Fossil isopod and decapod crustaceans from the Kowai Formation (Pliocene) near Makikihi, South Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 51: 43-58. Undergraduate Student Involvement

Feldmann, R. M., C. E. Schweitzer, and R. M. Green. Unusual Albian (Early Cretaceous) Brachyura (Homoloidea: Componocancroidea new superfamily) from Montana and Wyoming, U.S.A. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 28: 502-509. Undergraduate Student Involvement

Schweitzer, C. E., and R. M. Feldmann. 2008. New Eocene hydrocarbon seep decapod crustacean (Anomura: Galatheidae; Shinkaiinae) and its paleobiology. Journal of Paleontology, 82: 1021-1029.

Feldmann, R. M., C. E. Schweitzer, and W. R. Wahl. 2008. Ekalakia (Decapoda: Brachyura): The preservation of eyes links Cretaceous crabs to Jurassic ancestors. Journal of Paleontology, 82: 1030-1034.

Mutel, M. H. E., D. A. Waugh, R. M. Feldmann, and K. M. Parsons-Hubbard. 2008. Experimental taphonomy of Callinectes sapidus and cuticular controls on preservation. Palaios, 23: 615-623. Featured in BioOne, October, 2008. Undergraduate Involvement

Amato, C. G., D. A. Waugh, R. M. Feldmann, and C. E. Schweitzer. 2008. Effect of calcification on cuticle density in decapods: a key to lifestyle. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 28:587-595. Undergraduate Involvement

Crawford, R. S., S. Casadío, R. M. Feldmann, M. Griffin, A. Parras, and C. E. Schweitzer. 2008. Mass mortality of fossil decapods within the Monte León Formation (early Miocene), southern Argentina: Victims of Andean volcanism.
Annals of Carnegie Museum, 77: 259-288.

Schweitzer, C. E., and R. M. Feldmann. 2008. Revision of the genus Laeviprosopon Glaessner, 1933 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Homolodromioidea: Prosopidae) including two new species. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paaläontologie – Abhandlungen, 250: 273-285.
Abstracts of Papers Given at Meetings

Schweitzer, C. E., and R. M. Feldmann. 2006. Are paddle-like pereiopods a phylogenetically appropriate character within the Brachyura? Geological Society of America 2006 Abstracts with Programs North Central Section, 38(4): 56.

Feldmann, R. M., R. W. Portell, and C. E. Schweitzer. 2006. Costacopluma n. sp. (Decapoda: Retroplumidae) from the Eocene Tallahatta Formation, Alabama: range extension and a reevaluation of the Retroplumidae. Geological Society of America 2006 Abstracts with Programs North Central Section, 38(4): 57.

Schweitzer, C. E., and Feldmann, R. M. 2006. Reevaluating prosopid decapod crustaceans: The rootstock of the true crabs. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with program, v. 38, no. 7, p. 555.

Waugh, D. A. 2006. Preliminary examination of cuticular microstructure within the Raninoidea (Decapoda, Brachyura). Geological Society of America, Abstracts with program, v. 38, no. 7, p. 555.

Feldmann, R. M., Green, R., and Schweitzer, C. E. 2007. An unusual Albian (Early Cretaceous) crab from Montana: the earliest eubrachyuran? Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, v. 35, no. 2, p. 28-29.

Feldmann, R. M., and Schweitzer, C. E. 2007. A compilation of Decapoda collections in museums of the world. Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, v. 35, no. 2, p. 30-36.

Robins, C. M., Feldmann, R. M., and Schweitzer, C. E. 2007. Primitive brachyurans and galatheids from Ernstbrunn, Austria: an evaluation of the Friedrich Bachmayer collection. Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, v. 35, no. 2, p. 85-86.

Waugh, D. A., R. M. Feldmann, A. Hull, K. Hein, and C. E. Schweitzer. 2007. Scaling and classification of cuticular pits in raninids. 2007. 3^rd Symposium on Mesozoic and Cenozoic Decapod Crustaceans, Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, 35 (II): 103-104. REU Student Involvement

Karasawa, H., Schweitzer, C. E., and Feldmann, R. M. 2007. Systematics and phylogeny of the Portunoidea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura). Abstracts with Programs The 2007 Annual Meeting, The Palaeontological Society of Japan, p. 57.

Feldmann, R. M., C. E. Schweitzer, and D. A. Waugh. 2007. Selective biomineralization of crab cuticle: the key to a pelagic lifestyle. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v. 39, no. 6: 74. REU Student Involvement

Schweitzer, C. E., and R. M. Feldmann. 2007. Goniodromites Reuss, 1858 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Goniodromitidae): the cockroach of the Jurassic oceans. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v. 39, no. 6: 75.

Waugh, D. A., R. M. Feldmann, A. Hull, K. Hein, and C. E. Schweitzer. 2007. Effect of sample location and ontogeny on decapod cuticle, a case study of Callinectes sapidus. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v. 39, no. 6: 75. REU Student Involvement