New reports of decapod Portunus monspeliensis A. Milne Edwards, 1860 from Miocene beds of eastern Slovenia with notes on palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography Nove najdbe rakovice Portunus monspeliensis A. Milne Edwards, 1860 iz miocenskih plasti vzhodne Slovenije z opisom paleookolja in njihove paleogeografske razširjenosti Rok GAŠPARIČ 1,2 & Àlex OSSÓ 3 1 Oertijdmuseum De Groene Poort, Bosscheweg 80, 5293 WB Boxtel, the Netherlands; e-mail: rok.gasparic�gmail.com 2 Ljubljanska cesta 4j, SI–1241 Kamnik, Slovenija; e-mail: rok.gasparic�gmail.com 3 Josep Vicenç Foix 12-H, 1er-1a 43007 Tarragona, Spain; e-mail: aosso�comt.cat Prejeto / Received 2. 5. 2016; Sprejeto / Accepted 1. 6. 2016; Objavljeno na spletu / Published online 11. 8. 2016 Key words: Portunus monspeliensis, Decapoda, Miocene, Badenian, Central Paratethys, Palaeogeography, Palaeoecology, Slovenia Klju~ne besede: Portunus monspeliensis, deseteronožci, miocen, badenij, Centralna Paratetida, paleogeograija, paleoekologija, Slovenija Abstract In the present paper we report on several new occurrences of decapod Portunus monspeliensis A. Milne Edwards, 1860 from Miocene beds of eastern Slovenia, i. e. from the already known locality Šentilj in the northeastern Štajerska region and additional new localities in the Kozjansko and Dolenjska regions. These new reported occurrences of P. monspeliensis from the Middle Miocene (Badenian) strata of eastern Slovenia improve our knowledge of this otherwise widespread decapod crustacean. Additionally, we also re-evaluate the environmental preferences of the species and its wider palaeobiogeographical distribution during the Miocene in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Paratethys Seas. Izvle~ek V pričujočem članku poročamo o novih primerkih rakovic vrste Portunus monspeliensis A. Milne Edwards, 1860 iz miocenskih plasti v vzhodni Sloveniji, in sicer iz že znanega najdišča pri Šentilju v severovzhodnem delu Štajerske in iz novih nahajališč iz območja Kozjanskega in Dolenjske. Nove najdbe iz miocenskih plasti vzhodne Slovenije dopolnjujejo naše poznavanje vrste P. monspeliensis. Med drugim v članku na novo opredeljujemo okoljske preference te vrste in njeno širšo paleobiogeografsko razširjenost v obdobju miocena na območju Sredozemskega morja, Atlantskega oceana in Paratetide. GEOLOGIJA 59/1, 55-66, Ljubljana 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.5474/geologija.2016.005 Introduction The portunid crab Portunus monspeliensis A. Milne Edwards, 1860 has a widespread distribution during the Miocene period. The species has been reported from the Mediterranean, the Paratethys as well as from Atlantic coastal waters. It is known from Miocene sediments of Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula (MILNE EDWARDS, 1860; RISTORI, 1888; GLAESSNER, 1928, 1933; LÖRENTHEY & BEURLEN, 1929; VIA, 1932; MÜLLER, 1979, 1984, 1993; MIKUŽ, 2003; GATT, 2006). The remains of P. monspeliensis are one of the most abundant Miocene crabs and almost always represent the dominant decapod species in the strata where they occur.They are almost exclusively found in siliciclastic sediments such as sandstones and calcarenites, and their state of preservation is mostly not good. Due to their size, they are usually compressed, fractured and lacking exocuticle. Only recently illustrated specimens from the marly limestone of the middle Miocene Sardinia (MARANGON & DE ANGELI, 2009) are exceptionally well preserved and provide better insight on the species morphology of the dorsal carapace. © Author(s) 2016. CC Atribution 4.0 License