Pseudastacus (meaning "false Astacus", in comparison to the extant crayfish genus) is an extinct genus of decapod crustaceans that lived during the Jurassic period in Europe, and possibly the Cretaceous period in Lebanon. Many species have been assigned to it, though the placement of some species remains uncertain and others have been reassigned to different genera. Fossils attributable to this genus were first described by Georg zu Münster in 1839 under the name Bolina pustulosa, but the generic name was changed in 1861 after Albert Oppel noted that it was preoccupied. The genus has been placed into different families by numerous authors, historically being assigned to Nephropidae or Protastacidae. Currently, it is believed to be a member of Stenochiridae.
Reaching up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in total length, Pseudastacus was a small animal. Members of this genus have a crayfish-like build, possessing long antennae, a triangular rostrum and a frontmost pair of appendages enlarged into long and narrow pincers. Deep grooves are present on the carapace, which is around the same length as the abdomen. The surface of the carapace is usually uneven, with either small tubercles or pits. Sexual dimorphism is known in P. pustulosus, with the pincers of females being more elongated than those of the males. There is evidence of possible gregarious behavior in P. lemovices in the form of multiple individuals preserved alongside each other, possibly killed in a mass mortality event. With the oldest known record dating to the Sinemurian age of the Early Jurassic, and possible species surviving into the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, Pseudastacus has a long temporal range and was a widespread taxon. Fossils of this animal were first found in the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, but have also been recorded from France, England and Lebanon. All species in this genus lived in marine environments.
pustulosa and B. angusta into two new genera, Pseudastacus and Stenochirus respectively. Now renamed as Pseudastacus pustulosus and Stenochirus angustus, the...
cnidarian, and split the two species into separate genera, renaming them as Pseudastacus pustulosus and Stenochirus angustus. The family Stenochiridae was first...
species into separate genera. He erects the new genera Stenochirus and Pseudastacus, which B. angusta and B. pustulosa became the type species of respectively...
Chilenophoberus, Chong & Förster (1976) recognized the taxon as a relative to Pseudastacus and Palaeophoberus, placing it in the family Nephropidae (which the latter...
lobster P. tenera Eichstätt A spiny lobster Pustulina P. minuta An erymid Pseudastacus P. pustulosus A stenochirid Rosenfeldia R. oppeli Eichstätt An eryonid...
Protastacus and Pseudastacus into it, the former being the type genus of the family. In 1997, Tshudy and Babcock reassigned Pseudastacus to the family Chilenophoberidae...
Chronicles Alvis octopus, a junior synonym of the fossil crustacean Pseudastacus Alvíss, a dwarf in Norse mythology This disambiguation page lists articles...
octopus, initially described as an isopod, now a junior synonym of Pseudastacus. Norna Gen. et. sp. nov. Valid Münster Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone Germany...
ISBN 9780070887398. OCLC 46769716. A, Oppel (1861). "Die Arten der Gattungen Eryma, Pseudastacus, Magila und Etallonia" (PDF). Jahreshefte des Vereins fur Vaterlandische...
Limestone Germany Type species is B. pustulosa, now a junior synonym of Pseudastacus pustulosus. The species B. angusta was also assigned, and is now a junior...
Glyphea G. pseudoscyllarus Palaeastacus P. fuciformis Palaeopentacheles P. roettenbacheri Palinurina P. sp Pseudastacus P. sp Pustulia P. minuta P. suevica...
(Berriasian) Czech Republic A hermit crab belonging to the family Paguridae. Pseudastacus lemovices Sp. nov Valid Charbonnier & Audo Early Jurassic (Sinemurian)...
Charbonnier et al. Late Cretaceous Lebanon A lobster. Genus includes "Pseudastacus" hakelensis Fraas (1878). Odontochelion bicarinatum Sp. nov Valid Charbonnier...
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