The Crustacea of the Insect Bed (latest Eocene) of the Isle of Wight, England, including the first spinicaudatan (clam shrimp) from the British Cenozoic

Abstract

The crustacean fauna of the Insect Bed (late Eocene), Isle of Wight is reviewed. The fauna comprises the branchiopod Branchipodites vectensis Woodward, 1879, ostracod Potamocypris brodiei Jones and Sherborn, 1889, and isopod Eosphaeroma margarum (Desmarest, 1822). In addition a new clam shrimp (Crustacea: Diplostraca: Spinicaudata) is described and named Paraleptestheria mitchelli sp. nov. This is the first record of the genus outside China and the first ‘conchostracan' to be described from the European Cenozoic.