Anthracocaris

{{Short description|Fossil genus of crustaceans}} {{Distinguish|Anthracoceros}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Early Carboniferous}} | image = Anthracocaris dorsal view.jpg | image_caption = Illustration of two fossils of ''A. scotica'' | grandparent_authority = Brooks, 1962 | display_parents = 3 | genus = Anthracocaris | parent_authority = Calman, 1933 | species = scotica | authority = (Peach, 1882) | synonyms = *''Palaeocaris scoticus'' Peach, 1882 *''Palaeocaris scotica'' Peach, 1908 }}

'''''Anthracocaris''''', from Ancient Greek ἄνθραξ (''ánthrax''), meaning "coal", and καρίς (''karís''), meaning "shrimp", is an extinct genus of crustaceans which lived during the Early Carboniferous period in Scotland. It is the only genus in the family '''Anthracocarididae'''. The genus contains a single species, '''''A. scotica''''', which was first named as a species of ''Palaeocaris'' in 1882, but later recognized to belong in a separate genus.

==Discovery and naming== Fossil remains of ''Anthracocaris'' were first studied by British geologist Ben Peach, who analyzed around 30 specimens of this animal which were collected by A. Macconochie in Eskdale, Scotland. Recognizing that these fossils represent a new species, Peach named this species ''Palaeocaris scoticus'' in 1882, believing it was the first species of ''Palaeocaris'' to be discovered in Britain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peach |first=Ben |date=1882 |title=On some new crustaceans from the Lower Carboniferous rocks of Eskdale and Liddesdale |url=http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41399480 |journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh |volume=30 |pages=73–91}}</ref> In 1908, Peach published a monograph on the Carboniferous crustaceans of Scotland in which he once again described this species, noting that there exist many additional specimens of it aside from those he studied for its initial publication, and the spelling of its specific name was changed to ''scotica''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peach |first=B. N. |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/41415 |title=Monograph on the higher Crustacea of the Carboniferous rocks of Scotland |date=1908 |publisher=Printed for H.M. Stationery off., by J. Hedderwick & sons, ltd |location=Glasgow}}</ref>

This species was first realized to belong in a separate genus in 1933, when Scottish Zoologist William Thomas Calman reexamined nine fossils of this crustacean (seven of which were figured by Peach in the original description) and found that it did not belong in the same genus or even the same order as the type species of ''Palaeocaris''. He therefore erected the monotypic genus ''Anthracocaris'' to contain this species, renamed as ''A. scotica'', which became the type species of this genus.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Calman |first=W.T. |date=1933 |title=LX.— On ''Anthracocaris scotica'' ( Peach ), a fossil Crustacean from the Lower Carboniferous |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222933308673688 |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |language=en |volume=11 |issue=65 |pages=562–565 |doi=10.1080/00222933308673688 |issn=0374-5481|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Crustaceans|Paleontology}} {{Commons category|Anthracocaris}} {{Wikispecies|Anthracocaris}} {{taxonbar|from1=Q21219378|from2=Q21239076|from3=Q11841197}}

Category:Carboniferous arthropods of Europe Category:Tanaidacea Category:Fossil taxa described in 1933 Category:Monotypic prehistoric crustacean genera