Benchmarking the global biodiversity of decapod crustaceans in the fossil record

Abstract An assessment of the biodiversity of decapod crustaceans over geologic time (through 31 December 2024) records 4,225 species, 1,284 genera, and 193 families represented in the fossil record. These figures are derived from the online platform DecaNet, a subsidiary of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and the geological ages recorded in the Part R, Decapoda Revision of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Phases of discovery of fossil taxa more or less follow the historical time periods as elucidated for extant decapods. Diversity at the species and family level was highest during the Late Jurassic, Late Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene epochs. Distinct decapod faunas can be defined for the early to late Mesozoic, late Mesozoic and Paleogene, and Cenozoic time periods.