DECAPOD CRUSTACEA FROM THE TAPUI GLAUCONITIC SANDSTONE (BORTONIAN - MIDDLE EOCENE) IN THE WAITAKI VALLEY, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW-ZEALAND

Decapod crustaceans have been collected from concretions at four localities in the middle Eocene (Bortonian) Tapui Glauconitic Sandstone in North Otago, South Island, New Zealand. Of the five species recognised, Callianassa sp., Ctenocheles sp., Laeviraniana perarmata Glaessner, Lyreidus waitakiensis Glaessner, and Rhachiosoma granuliferum (Glaessner), only L. waitakiensis, the oldest known representative of that genus, has been reported from the unit previously. This decapod fauna is similar to that from the Bortonian rocks in Snowdrift Quarry, South Otago.