Remarkable crayfish remains (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from Oklahoma—evidence of predation

Abstract

Direct physical evidence for predation upon decapod crustaceans is extremely limited in the fossil record. Although it is well recognized that decapods serve as a food resource for a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate predators and that the remains of decapods, in the forms of molts and corpses, are readily scavenged, direct evidence for these activities is limited (Tshudy et al., 1989). Bishop (1975) summarized evidences for predation in the fossil record and, although he frequently referred to decapods as predators, cited only one example (Bishop, 1972) of the group as prey. Thus, the discovery of three specimens of freshwater decapods, referable to the crayfish family Cambaridae, that clearly exhibit the effects of predation is significant.