Review of Meyeria mexicana Rathbun, 1935 (Glypheidea, Mecochiridae) from the upper Aptian (Cretaceous) of Chihuahua, northern Mexico

Twenty specimens and two fragments of the extinct lobster Meyeria mexicana Rathbun, 1935 were collected from two outcrops of the La Peña Formation in the Cerro Chino region, (Chihuahua State, northern Mexico). The biostratigraphical range of associated ammonites allows us to assign a late Aptian age (Kazanskyella minima Zone) for this decapods crustacean assemblage. Meyeria mexicana was poorly known because it was described based on a single specimen. New specimens were found at the same locality where the holotype was collected 82 years ago. The taxonomic analysis of the new specimens of this taxon allows us to fill in the gaps and produce an accurate description to support conspecificity with Atherfieldastacus magnus (M'Coy, 1849). Through the review of thin sections of the new material, the cuticular structure, including the lamination and pore canals are recognized in this decapod for first time.