A new early Carboniferous crustacean from the Forest of Dean, England

Crustacean remains collected from quarries in Mitcheldean and the Great Doward in the Forest of Dean were originally thought to represent a species of <i>Tealliocaris</i>. Comparisons made with other Carboniferous crustaceans suggest that this material belongs to a new genus and species of eumalacostracan crustacean. The erection of this new genus and species is supported by morphometric and cladistic analyses. The new crustacean, <i>Schramocaris gilljonesorum</i> gen. et sp. nov., appears to exhibit more similarities to <i>Tealliocaris</i> and the Scottish and northern English crustacean <i>Pseudogalathea</i>. There are, however, some significant differences in the shape of the carapace, and the ornamentation of the carapace and pleon. The broad, squat telson is more akin to that of <i>Pseudogalathea</i>, but the length of the pleon and the lack of elongated sharp posterolateral angles to the carapace are more like those of <i>Tealliocaris</i>. The apparent lack of a scaphocerite and the lack of an enlarged third pleomere are more suggestive of affinities with <i>Pseudogalathea</i>. principal coordinate analysis on 12 landmarks of the carapace indicate that this new crustacean is distinct from both <i>Tealliocaris</i> and <i>Pseudogalathea</i>. A cladistic comparison with other Devonian and Carboniferous crustaceans from around the world also suggests that it is distinct, but morphologically similar to a grouping that includes <i>Chaocaris, Tylocaris, Fujianocaris, Pseudogalathea</i> and <i>Tealliocaris</i>. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7B8D687C-B09D-4198-B234-6F74C55C0E3B