Glypheoidea
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 fossil Mecochirus longimanus
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The Glypheoidea (containing the glypheoid lobsters), is a group of lobster-like decapod crustaceans which forms an important part of fossil faunas, such as the Solnhofen limestone. These fossils included taxa such as Glyphea (from which the group takes its name), and Mecochirus, mostly with elongated (often semichelate) chelipeds.
The Glypheoidea was originally considered to be a purely fossil group. That opinion had to be altered when a single male specimen was discovered in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution in 1975. It had been caught off the Philippines in 1908 and preserved, without its full significance being realised. Over sixty years later, the specimen was rediscovered, and described by two French scientists as a new genus and species, Neoglyphea inopinata Forest and de Saint Laurent, 1975 (1), meaning "unexpected new Glyphea . More individuals were caught on subsequent expeditions in 1976, 1980 and 1985, allowing for a complete description (2). A second species was discovered in the Coral Sea, near New Caledonia, in 2005. First described as Neoglyphea neocaledonica, Richer de Forges, 2006 (3), it has been transferred to a new genus Laurentaeglyphea, much closer to fossil forms (4).
The superfamily Glypheoidea comprises three families: the Glypheidae, Mecochiridae and Pemphicidae. There are two extant species, Neoglyphea inopinata and Laurentaeglyphea neocaledonica, both of which are in the Glypheidae.
This group of decapods is a good example of a living fossil, or a lazarus taxon, since until their discovery in the 1970s, the group was considered to have become extinct in the Eocene.
[edit] References
(1) J. Forest and M. de Saint Laurent (1975), "Présence dans la faune actuelle d'un représentant du groupe mésozoïque des Glyphéides: Neoglyphea inopinata gen. nov., sp. nov. (Crustacea Decapoda Glypheidae)", Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, (D) 281: 155-158, 1 pl.
(2) J. Forest and M. de Saint Laurent (1981), La morphologie externe de Neoglyphea inopinata, espèce actuelle de Crustacé Décapode Glyphéide in: Rés. Camp. MUSORSTOM, I.Philippines (18-28 mars 1976), 1 (2). Mémoires de l'Office de la Recherche scientifique et technique Outre-Mer, 91: 51-84, figs. 1-28.
(3) B. Richer de Forges, 2006. Découverte en mer du Corail d'une deuxième espèce de glyphéide (Crustacea, Decapoda, Glypheoidea). Zoosystema, 28 (1): 17-28 , fig.1-9.
(4) J. Forest. Laurentaeglyphea, un nouveau genre pour la seconde espèce de Glyphéide récemment découverte (Crustacea Decapoda Glypheidae), C. R. Biologies 329 (2006), 841-846, fig.1
