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Home , James Ross Island, Santa Marta Formation

Decapod crustaceans from James ,

JAMES ROSS AR:11^ GROUP FORMATION RODNEY M. FELDMAN SE YMOUR

demo- Departnzent of Geology

Kent State University J Sonia Marto Kent, Ohio 44242

Kal^k Point Logfithus Point The fossil record of crabs and lobsters in the region of the is truly remarkable. Since the first decapod Map of the region showing the distribution of species was described from the vicinity of James Ross Island sedimentary rock units from which decapod crustaceans have been (Weller 1903), about 30 taxa have been recognized, spanning collected and a stratigraphic column of Cretaceous and Paleogene the time from Jurassic to Eocene, although none is known from units. Compiled from Elliot (1988), Fleming and Thomson (1979), the Albian through the . This article records the oc- lneson (1987), and Olivero et al. (1986). currence of several fossil crab and lobster taxa from rocks, ranging in age from Barremian to , on James Ross Island, Antarctica. The discovery of decapod-rich assemblages Feldmann 1988) whereas no decapods have been described in pre-late Campanian rocks of western James Ross Island previously from the . offers a unique opportunity to expand our understanding of Preliminary examination of a small fraction of the fossil ma- the decapod Crustacea. terial from the Gustav Group and the Santa Marta Formation During the austral summer of 1986-1987, the late Reinhart suggests that at least six taxa are present, all but two of which Forster and Michael Thomson, with an expedition of the British may be new. These fossils from James Ross Island are older Antarctic Survey, studied Cretaceous rocks cropping out along than any that have been studied previously on the eastern the western margin of James Ross Island. They made an ex- margin of the Antarctic Peninsula and provide valuable infor- tensive collection of decapods from the Gustav Group at sev- mation about the history of decapods in Antarctica in an in- eral sites. Edouardo Olivero, Research Scientist, Centro de terval about which we know nothing currently. Hoploparia stokesi Investigaciones en Recursos Geologicos, Argentina, collected (Weller) and Metanephrops jenkinsi (Feldmann), which are pres- fossil decapods from the lowermost formation within the Mar- ent in both rock units, have been reported from the Lopez de ambio Group, the Santa Marta Formation. Thus, a large col- Bertodano Formation previously (Feldmann and Tshudy 1989). lection of fossil decapod crustaceans from well-documented In addition to these lobsters, crabs within the Raninidae and and accurately dated rocks on James Ross Island is now avail- the Calappidae have been recognized, as has a callianassid able for study. ghost shrimp. A collection of large carapaces and claws from The Cretaceous rocks of the James Ross Island region have a single locality possibly may be a new anomuran. These taxa been subdivided into two groups: the older Gustav Group, bear little resemblance to any previously described taxa from which is thought to range in age from Barremian through Antarctica. possibly Santonian (meson, Crame, and Thomson 1986) and In addition to description of the decapod taxa collected from the Marambio Group, which spans the remainder of the Cre- James Ross Island, current research is focused upon expanding taceous and extends into the (meson et al. 1986; our understanding of possible morphological stasis in the lob- Olivero, Scasso, and Rinaldi 1986; Olivero 1988; Elliot 1988) ster species (Feldmann and Tshudy 1989), interpreting the ev- (figure). The Gustav Group has been subdivided into four olutionary significance of a very early appearance of a raninid formations. The lowermost three, the Lagrelius Point, Kotick which is morphologically "modern" in Antarctica, and contin- Point, and Whisky Bay formations, represent deep-water, fine uing the documentation of high latitude origin of deep-water taxa (Zinsmeister and Feldmann 1984). sediments of slope apron and fan interchannel deposits and as coarse sediments deposited as inner fan sediments (meson Michael Thomson, , has offered me 1987). The overlying Hidden Lake Formation was deposited access to decapod collections in his care, and Edouardo Olivero in deltaic and inner-shelf habitats (Macdonald et al. 1988). has, likewise, allowed me to study the material in the collec- Trace fossils, attributable to the work of decapods, have been tions of Centro de Investigaciones en Recursos Geologicos, identified throughout the group (meson 1987) and decapod Argentina. Without their kind cooperation, this work would not be possible. fossils have been collected at least within the Hidden Lake This research is supported by National Science Foundation Formation. The overlying Marambio Group has been subdi- grant DPP 89-15439. vided into the basal Santa Marta Formation, which comprises (Contribution 460, Department of Geology, Kent State Uni- coarse to medium siliciclastic sediments deposited in inner versity, Kent, Ohio 44242.) shelf habitats (Olivero et al. 1986; Olivero 1988), and the finer grained Lopez de Bertodano Formation, which is representa- tive of shelf sediments deposited generally below storm-wave References base (Macellari 1988). The fossil record of lobsters from the Elliot, D.E. 1988. Tectonic setting and evolution of the James Ross Lopez de Bertodano Formation has been well documented Basin, northern Antarctic Peninsula. In R.M. Feldmann and M.O. (Feldmann 1989; Feldmann and Tshudy 1989; Tshudy and Woodburne, (eds.), Geology and paleontology of , Ant-

1990 REVIEW 45 arctica. (Geological Society of America, Memoir 169.) Boulder, Col- Macellari, C. 1988. Stratigraphy, sedimentology and paleoecology of orado: Geological Society of America. Upper Cretaceous/Paleocene shelf-deltaic sediments of Seymour Is- Feldmann, R.M. 1989. Metanephrops jenkinsi n. sp. (Decapoda: Ne- land (Antarctic Peninsula). In R.M. Feldmann and M.O. Wood- phropidae) from the Cretaceous and Paleocene of Seymour Island, burne, (eds.), Geology and paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctica. Antarctica. Journal of Paleontology, 63, 64-69. (Geological Society of America, Memoir 169.) Boulder, Colorado: Feldman, R.M., and D.M. Tshudy. 1989. Evolutionary patterns in Geological Society of America. macrurous decapod crustaceans from Cretaceous to early Cenozoic Olivero, E.B. 1988. Early Campanian heteromorph ammonites from rocks of the James Ross Island region, Antarctica. In J.A. Crame James Ross Island, Antarctica. National Geographic Research, 4, 259- (ed.), Origins and evolution of the Antarctic biota. (Geological Sotiety, 271. London, Special Publication.) London: Geological Society. Olivero, E.B., R.A. Scasso, and C.A. Rinaldi. 1986. Revision of the Fleming, L.A., and J.W. Thomson. 1979. Geologic map of Northern Gra- Marambio Group, James Ross Island, Antarctica. Inst it uto Antarctica ham Land and South Shetland Islands. British Antarctic Survey, 1:500,000 Argentino Contribucion, 331, 1-29. Geologic Map, Series BAS 500, G, Sheet 2, Edition 1. Tshudy, D.M., and R.M. Feldmann. 1988. Macrurous decapod crus- Ineson, J.R. 1987. Trace fossils from a submarine fan-slope apron com- taceans, and their epibionts, from the Lopez de Bertodano Formation plex in the Cretaceous of James Ross Island, Antarctica. British Ant- (), Seymour Island, Antarctica. In R.M. Feldmann arctic Survey Bulletin, 74, 1-16. and M . O. Woodburne, (eds.), Geology and paleontology of Seymour Ineson, JR., J.A. Crame, and M.R.A. Thomson. 1986. Lithostratig- Island, Antarctica, (Geological Society of America, Memoir 169.) Boul- raphy of the Cretaceous strata of west James Ross Island, Antarctica. der, Colorado: Geological Society of America. Cretaceous Research, 7, 141-159. Weller, S. 1903. The Stokes collection of Antarctic fossils. Journal of Macdonald, D.I.M., P.F. Barker, S.W. Garrett, and J.R. meson, D. Geology, 11, 413-419. Pirrie, B.C. Storey, A.G. Whitham, R.R.F. Kinghorn, and J.E.A. Zinsmeister, W.J., and R.M. Feldmann. 1984. Cenozoic high latitude Marshall. 1988. A preliminary assessment of the hydrocarbon po- heterochroneity of Southern Hemisphere marine faunas. Science, tential of the Larsen Basin, Antarctica. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 224, 281-283. 5, 34-53.

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