Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 28, 2026

Mecochirus

Mecochirus is an extinct genus of lobster-like decapod crustaceans, containing 17 species. The Maxberg Specimen of Archaeopteryx was initially assigned to the type species, Mecochirus longimanatus before it was realised that it belonged to Archaeopteryx lithographica.

Last revised
Jun 28, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
247 w
Citations
5
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Mecochirus
Temporal range: 12
Fossil of Mecochirus longimanatus, from the Solnhofen limestones
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: †Mecochiridae
Genus: †Mecochirus
Germar, 1827
Type species
Mecochirus longimanatus

Mecochirus is an extinct genus of lobster-like decapod crustaceans, containing 17 species.3 The Maxberg Specimen of Archaeopteryx was initially assigned to the type species, Mecochirus longimanatus before it was realised that it belonged to Archaeopteryx lithographica.4

Paleoecology

Mecochirus rapax may have lived inside or produced Thalassinoides burrows.5

References

References

  1. Peter A. Jell; Jack T. Woods; Alex G. Cook (2017). "Mecochirus Germar (Decapoda: Glypheoidea) in the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 41 (4): 514–523. Bibcode:2017Alch...41..514J. doi:10.1080/03115518.2017.1318169. S2CID 133638267.
  2. Sylvain Charbonnier; Rémy Gilardet; Alessandro Garassino; Giliane P. Odin (2023). "A new species of mecochirid lobster from the Late Cretaceous of France, preserved with its eggs". Geodiversitas. 45 (23): 681–688. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2023v45a23.
  3. Sammy De Grave; N. Dean Pentcheff; Shane T. Ahyong; et al. (2009). "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Suppl. 21: 1–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  4. Heller, F. (1960). "Der dritte Archaeopteryx-Fund aus den Solnhofener Plattenkalken des oberen Malm Frankens". Journal für Ornithologie. 101 (1–2): 7–28. Bibcode:1960JOrn..101....7H. doi:10.1007/bf01670630. S2CID 44286412.
  5. Carvalho, C. N. D.; Viegas, P. A.; Cachao, M. (2007-01-01). "Thalassinoides and ITS Producer: Populations of Mecochirus Buried within Their Burrow Systems, Boca do Chapim Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Portugal". PALAIOS. 22 (1): 104–109. Bibcode:2007Palai..22..104C. doi:10.2110/palo.2006.p06-011r. ISSN 0883-1351. S2CID 130132392.