''Bathynectes muelleri'' is an extinct species of polybiid crab and the oldest known species of the genus ''

Bathynectes ''Bathynectes'' is a genus of crabs in the family Polybiidae. Species * ''Bathynectes brevispina'' Stimpson, 1871 * ''Bathynectes longipes'' (Risso, 1816) * ''Bathynectes longispina'' Stimpson, 1871 * ''Bathynectes maravigna'' (Prestandrea, 183 ...

''. It lived in the Central

Paratethys The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys was a large shallow inland sea that stretched from the region north of the Alps over Central Europe to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Paratethys was peculiar due to its pa ...

of modern-day Ukraine during the Badenian age( Langhian, middle Miocene ). While extant species of ''Bathynectes'' live mainly in deep water habitats, ''B. muelleri'' fossils were found in sediments indicative of shallow water habitats, suggesting the earliest ''Bathynectes'' originated in shallow waters, and descendent species migrated to deep-water habitats.

References

Portunoidea Miocene crustaceans Fossil taxa described in 2011 Prehistoric life of Europe {{paleo-crustacean-stub