''Cambarus cryptodytes'', the Dougherty Plain cave crayfish or Apalachicola cave crayfish, is a small, freshwater

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

endemic to Florida and Georgia in the United States. It is an underground species known only from waters associated with the Floridan aquifer.

Description

The Dougherty Plain cave crayfish grows to a length of about with antennae twice this length. It is a colourless species with unpigmented eyes, segmented

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

and abdomen, a pair of slender

chelae A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer (biology), pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are ...

(claws) with a row or two of tubercles and long slender

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including anten ...

s. The rostrum is long and unadorned with tubercles or spines.

Distribution

The Dougherty Plain cave crayfish is known from springs, wells and cave systems in the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

limestone region of Dougherty Plain in the Southeastern United States. It has been found in

Dougherty County Dougherty County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,790. The county seat and sole incorporated city is Albany. Dougherty County is included in the Albany, GA Metr ...

and

Decatur County Decatur County is the name of various past and present counties in the United States, all named for Stephen Decatur: *Decatur County, Georgia *Decatur County, Indiana *Decatur County, Iowa *Decatur County, Kansas *Decatur County, Tennessee *Decatur ...

in Georgia and Jackson County and Washington County in Florida. It is likely also to be present in Mitchell County and Baker County, Georgia which lie between the two presently-known ranges.

Biology

Little is known of the biology of this crayfish. It is probably an opportunistic omnivorous scavenger and may feed on the

Georgia blind salamander The Georgia blind salamander (''Eurycea wallacei'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae (the "lungless salamanders"). It is endemic to the south-eastern United States where its natural habitats are inland karsts, caves and s ...

(''Haideotriton wallacei'') which shares the same range. It has a low metabolic rate, perhaps associated with the limited availability of food, and consequently it is possible that it may live for twenty years or more. Males with ripe

gonad A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sper ...

s have been found between July and October but females bearing eggs have not been found and nor have juveniles or sub-adults.

Status

In 1996 this species was listed as " Vulnerable" in the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

but following the discovery that its range is wider than originally thought, it was in 2010 recategorised as being of " Least concern" on the grounds that it has a broad range and is common within that range. It seems to be able to live in water with low oxygen levels and may be widespread in the aquifer away from locations that open to the surface. Potential threats include removal of water from the aquifer for human use and contamination of the water by pesticides and excess nutrients from agricultural operations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4467676 cryptodytes Cave crayfish Crustaceans of the United States Endemic fauna of Florida Endemic fauna of Georgia (U.S. state) Freshwater crustaceans of North America Crustaceans described in 1941 Taxa named by Horton H. Hobbs Jr. Taxonomy articles created by Polbot