Fossil freshwater carideans are very rare worldwide. Here,
we present new taxonomic remarks about Beurlenia
araripensis from the Early
Cretaceous laminated limestones of the Crato Formation, Araripe Basin,
northeastern Brazil. We analyzed five fossil samples, testing the morphological
variations such as, rostrum with 5 to 14 supra-rostral spines and 2 to 3
sub-rostral spines, which appears as serrate for Caridea. This variation
demonstrates a morphologic plasticity also seen in extant species of the group,
such as those of the genera Macrobrachium and Palaemon.