The fossil shrimp Araripenaeus timidus n. gen. n. sp. is the first fossil Penaeoidea from Brazil. Here, we describe, illustrate and compare it with Paleomattea deliciosa, a fossil Sergestoidea (Dendrobranchiata) previously described from the same region. The material of the early Cretaceous (Albian) was collected in the town of Jardim, south of the state of Ceará, in the superior septarian concretion level of the Romualdo Formation. Additionally, a second specimen of Kellnerius jamacaruensis was found in the same site of the Araripe Basin.