Cuchiadromites jadeae, a new genus and species of primitive crab (Crustacea: Decapoda: Podotremata) from the Aptian of Cantabria (Spain), with comments on its peculiar surface ornament

A new genus and new species of decapod brachyuran, Cuchiadromites jadeae, is recorded and described herein from the Lower Aptian (Early Cretaceous) Patrocinio Formation (Deshayesites forbesi Ammonite Zone) of the coastal cliffs near Cuchía (Cantabria, Spain). Cuchiadromites jadeae gen. et sp. nov., is the fourth species of brachyuran recovered in this locality. The dorsal carapace of the sole specimen preserves sufficient diagnostic characters that allow placement in the family Longodromitidae. The present species exhibits a profuse dorsal ornamentation of fungiform granules that form cauliflower-shaped clusters reminiscent of the ornamentation seen in fossil and extant species of different eubrachyuran families, for instance Parthenopidae or Dairidae, and also in the anomuran families Paguridae or Xylopaguridae, but not described before in podotreme taxa. This could be due to convergence in groups far distant in geological time and systematic placement.