Brazilian Miocene crabs I. Taxonomic review of Cyclocancer tuberculatus Beurlen, 1958 and Hepatella amazonica Beurlen, 1958 (Pancrustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura)

Abstract

In describing Cyclocancer to accommodate his new species C. tuberculatus, Beurlen highlighted that his new genus was a cancroid intermediate in form between Atelecyclus and Cancer, but with enough characters to be placed in a new genus. Examination of C. tuberculatus type material revealed that Cyclocancer is a junior synonym of Hepatus. Therefore, C. tuberculatus is herein transferred into Hepatus as H. beurleni nomen novum because H. tuberculatus (Beurlen, 1958) is a junior homonym of H. tuberculatus Saussure (1858), a junior synonym of Hepatus pudibundus (Herbst, 1785). Miohepatus gen. nov., comb. nov. is proposed here to accommodate Hepatella amazonica Beurlen from the Pirabas Formation, Neogene, Pará, Brazil, based on new morphological evidence from the type material.