| Mecochirus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Fossil of Mecochirus longimanatus, from the Solnhofen limestones | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Family: | †Mecochiridae |
| Genus: | †Mecochirus Germar, 1827 |
| Type species | |
| Mecochirus longimanatus Schlotheim, 1822 | |
Mecochirus is an extinct genus of lobster-like decapod crustaceans, containing 17 species. The Maxberg Specimen of Archaeopteryx was initially assigned to the type species, Mecochirus longimanatus before it was realised that it belonged to Archaeopteryx lithographica.
Mecochirus rapax may have lived inside or produced Thalassinoides burrows.