Eocene Decapod Crustacea (Thalassinidea and Brachyura) from Patagonia, Argentina

Rocks of the Rio Turbio Formation, exposed in southern Patagonia, Argentina, represent one of very few occurrences of Eocene rocks in the region. Decapod crustaceans collected from the unit include one species of thalassinidean mud shrimp; Turbiocheir minutospinata, new genus, new species; and three species of brachyurans; Raninoides rioturbiensis, new species; Megokkos patagoniensis, new species; and Nitotacarcinus antipodes, new species. The three brachyuran genera are also known from species in the Northeast Pacific, suggesting an amphitropical distributional pattern.