First record of Ophthalmoplax brasiliana (Maury, 1930) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of the Potiguar Basin, Northeast of Brazil

Abstract

This paper documents the occurrence of Ophthalmoplax brasiliana, the first fossil crab in the Potiguar Basin based on an adult male specimen collected in the outcrop of the Jandaíra Formation (Campanian). The material was obtained from the carbonatic layers of the Upper Cretaceous near the city of Apodi, west of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. This is probably the oldest record of this species in the Americas and a contribution to the knowledge of the paleobiogeography of this taxonomic group.