Episode 2962
Pseudastacus
Sat, 2025-Jun-14 00:31 UTC
Length - 2:51
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Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Saturday, 14 June 2025, is Pseudastacus.
Pseudastacus (meaning "false Astacus", in comparison to the extant crayfish genus) is an extinct genus of decapod crustaceans that lived during the Jurassic period in Europe, and possibly the Cretaceous period in Lebanon. Many species have been assigned to it, though the placement of some species remains uncertain and others have been reassigned to different genera. Fossils attributable to this genus were first described by Georg zu Münster in 1839 under the name Bolina pustulosa, but the generic name was changed in 1861 after Albert Oppel noted that it was preoccupied. The genus has been placed into different families by numerous authors, historically being assigned to Nephropidae or Protastacidae. Currently, it is believed to be a member of Stenochiridae.
Reaching up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in total length, Pseudastacus was a small animal. Members of this genus have a crayfish-like build, possessing long antennae, a triangular rostrum and a frontmost pair of appendages enlarged into long and narrow pincers. Deep grooves are present on the carapace, which is around the same length as the abdomen. The surface of the carapace is usually uneven, with either small tubercles or pits. Sexual dimorphism is known in P. pustulosus, with the pincers of females being more elongated than those of the males. There is evidence of possible gregarious behavior in P. lemovices in the form of multiple individuals preserved alongside each other, possibly killed in a mass mortality event. With the oldest known record dating to the Sinemurian age of the Early Jurassic, and possible species surviving into the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, Pseudastacus has a long temporal range and was a widespread taxon. Fossils of this animal were first found in the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, but have also been recorded from France, England and Lebanon. All species in this genus lived in marine environments.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:31 UTC on Saturday, 14 June 2025.
For the full current version of the article, see Pseudastacus on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm standard Raveena.
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