''Procambarus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cambaridae, all native to

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It includes a number of troglobitic species, and the

marbled crayfish The marbled crayfish or (''Procambarus virginalis'') is a parthenogenetic crayfish that was discovered in the pet trade in Germany in 1995. Marbled crayfish are closely related to the "slough crayfish", '' Procambarus fallax'', which is widely ...

(''marmorkrebs''), which is

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...

. Originally described as a subgenus for four species, it now contains around 161 species.

Biogeography

The majority of the diversity is found in the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, but the genus extends as far south as

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and on the Caribbean island of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. After United States, the highest diversity is in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

with about 45 species. Only two are native to Guatemala (''P. pilosimanus'' and ''P. williamsoni''), one to

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

(''P. pilosimanus''), one to Honduras (''P. williamsoni'') and three to Cuba (''P. atkinsoni'', ''P. cubensis'' and ''P. niveus''). Subgenus ''Ortmannicus'' was the most widespread, with the range of '' Procambarus acutus'' extending as far north as the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, as well as south into northeastern Mexico; the subgenus ''Girardella'' also extended from the Great Lakes to Mexico, but was distributed further west than ''Ortmannicus''. ''Scapulicambarus'' and ''Pennides'' were widespread in the southeastern United States, further west (

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

) than ''Leconticambarus'' which was centered on

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and neighbouring states. The subgenus ''Austrocambarus'' had the most southerly distribution, being found in Cuba and parts of

from Mexico to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. The other subgenera are more restricted in their distributions, including three endemic to central Mexico, and six endemic to small areas in the United States. A few species of ''Procambarus'' have been introduced to regions outside their native range, both in North America and other continents. They are frequently categorized as

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

, representing a threat to natives, including rarer crayfish species.

Description

''Procambarus'' can be distinguished from other genera of crayfish by the form of the first

pleopod The decapod ( crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various ...

in males, which typically has three or more processes at the tip, compared to two or fewer in '' Faxonius'' and ''

Cambarus ''Cambarus'' is a large and diverse genus of crayfish from the United States and Canada. The adults range in size from about 5 centimeters (2 in) up to approximately 15 centimeters (6 in). Description The genus ''Cambarus'' is the se ...

''.

Ecology

Most ''Procambarus'' species live in various above-ground waters such as rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and swamps, but several are troglobitic, living in

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, particularly in

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 ...

ic areas. In the United States, these include both species in subgenus ''Lonnbergius'' ('' P. acherontis'' and '' P. morrisi''). Other cave-dwellers in the United States with various levels of

troglomorphic Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an animal to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterised by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies and/or appendages. The ...

adaptions are '' P. attiguus'', '' P. erythrops'', '' P. franzi'', '' P. leitheuseri'', '' P. lucifugus'', '' P. milleri'' and '' P. orcinus'', but these are all members of subgenera that also include species from above-ground waters. In Cuba, '' P. niveus'' is a cave-dweller. In Mexico, many species have been recorded in caves, but most of these have also been recorded from above-ground waters; only '' P. cavernicola'', '' P. oaxacae'', '' P. rodriguezi'' and '' P. xilitlae'' are strict cave-dwellers and troglomorphic. In 2007, troglomorphic specimens of '' P. clarkii'' were found in caves in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Taxonomy

Marmorkrebs Procambarus fallax forma virginalis

''Procambarus'' was originally described by

Arnold Edward Ortmann Arnold Edward Ortmann (April 8, 1863 – January 3, 1927) was a Prussian-born United States naturalist and zoologist who specialized in malacology. Biography Ortmann was born in Magdeburg, Prussia on April 8, 1863. A student of Ernst Haeckel, ...

in 1905 as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of a wider genus ''

'', and originally contained only four species ('' P. williamsoni'', '' P. digueti'', '' P. mexicanus'' and '' P. cubensis''). The subgenus was elevated in 1942 to the

taxonomic rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family (biology), family, order (biology), order, class (b ...

by Horton H. Hobbs, Jr., who later erected most of the subgenera fornerly recognised within the genus, in his 1972

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

''The subgenera of the crayfish genus ''Procambarus'' (Decapoda: Astacidae)''. However, more recently the subgenera have been eliminated, and while it is recognized that ''Procambarus'' in not monophyletic, later literature does not make further taxonomic changes suggesting that more species sampling is required.

Species

*'' Procambarus ablusus'' Penn, 1963 *'' Procambarus acanthophorus'' Villalobos, 1948 *'' Procambarus acherontis'' (Lönnberg, 1894) *'' Procambarus acutissimus'' (Girard, 1852) *'' Procambarus acutus'' (Girard, 1852) *'' Procambarus adani'' Álvarez, Torres & Villalobos, 2021 *'' Procambarus advena'' (LeConte, 1856) *'' Procambarus albaughi'' (Johnson, 2018) *'' Procambarus alleni'' (Faxon, 1884) *'' Procambarus ancylus'' Hobbs, 1958 *†'' Procambarus angustatus'' (LeConte, 1856) *'' Procambarus apalachicolae'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus atkinsoni'' (Ortmann, 1913) *'' Procambarus attiguus'' Hobbs, Jr. & Franz, 1992 *'' Procambarus barbatus'' (Faxon, 1890) *'' Procambarus barbiger'' Fitzpatrick, 1978 *'' Procambarus bivittatus'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus blandingii'' (Harlan, 1830) *'' Procambarus bouvieri'' (Ortmann, 1909) *'' Procambarus braswelli'' J. E. Cooper, 1998 *'' Procambarus brazoriensis'' Albaugh, 1975 *'' Procambarus caballeroi'' Villalobos, 1944 *'' Procambarus capillatus'' Hobbs, 1971 *'' Procambarus caritus'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Procambarus catemacoensis'' Rojas, Alvarez & Villalobos, 2000 *'' Procambarus cavernicola'' Mejía-Ortiz, Hartnoll & Viccon-Pale, 2003 *'' Procambarus ceruleus'' Fitzpatrick & Wicksten, 1998 *'' Procambarus chacei'' Hobbs, 1958 *'' Procambarus citlaltepetl'' Rojas, Alvarez & Villalobos, 1999 *'' Procambarus clarkii'' (Girard, 1852) *'' Procambarus clemmeri'' Hobbs, 1975 *'' Procambarus cometes'' Fitzpatrick, 1978 *'' Procambarus connus'' Fitzpatrick, 1978 *'' Procambarus contrerasi'' (Creaser, 1931) *'' Procambarus cubensis'' (Erichson, 1846) *'' Procambarus cuetzalanae'' Hobbs, 1982 *'' Procambarus curdi'' Reimer, 1975 *'' Procambarus delicatus'' Hobbs & Franz, 1986 *'' Procambarus digueti'' (Bouvier, 1897) *'' Procambarus dupratzi'' Penn, 1953 *'' Procambarus echinatus'' Hobbs, 1956 *'' Procambarus econfinae'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus elegans'' Hobbs, 1969 *'' Procambarus enoplosternum'' Hobbs, 1947 *'' Procambarus epicyrtus'' Hobbs, 1958 *'' Procambarus erichsoni'' Villalobos, 1950 *'' Procambarus erythrops'' Relyea & Sutton, 1975 *'' Procambarus escambiensis'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus evermanni'' (Faxon, 1890) *''

Procambarus fallax ''Procambarus fallax'' (also known as slough crayfish) is a species of crayfish in the genus ''Procambarus''. It lives in tributaries of the Satilla River in Georgia and Florida. It is the closest relative to the parthenogenetic Parthenogen ...

'' (Hagen, 1870) *'' Procambarus fitzpatricki'' Hobbs, 1972 *'' Procambarus franzi'' Hobbs & Lee, 1976 *'' Procambarus geminus'' Hobbs, 1975 *'' Procambarus geodytes'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus gibbus'' Hobbs, 1969 *'' Procambarus gonopodocristatus'' Villalobos, 1958 *'' Procambarus gracilis'' (Bundy, 1876) *'' Procambarus hagenianus'' (Faxon, 1884) *''

Procambarus hayi ''Procambarus'' is a genus of crayfish in the family Cambaridae, all native to North and Central America. It includes a number of troglobitic species, and the marbled crayfish (''marmorkrebs''), which is parthenogenetic. Originally described as ...

'' (Faxon, 1884) *'' Procambarus hinei'' (Ortmann, 1905) *'' Procambarus hirsutus'' Hobbs, 1958 *''

Procambarus hoffmanni ''Procambarus'' is a genus of crayfish in the family Cambaridae, all native to North and Central America. It includes a number of troglobitic species, and the marbled crayfish (''marmorkrebs''), which is parthenogenetic. Originally described as a ...

'' (Villalobos, 1944) *'' Procambarus holifieldi'' (Schuster, Taylor & Adams, 2015) *'' Procambarus horsti'' Hobbs & Means, 1972 *'' Procambarus hortonhobbsi'' Villalobos, 1950 *'' Procambarus howellae'' Hobbs, 1952 *'' Procambarus hubbelli'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus hybus'' Hobbs & Walton, 1957 *'' Procambarus incilis'' Pennington, 1962 *'' Procambarus jaculus'' Hobbs & Walton, 1957 *'' Procambarus kensleyi'' Hobbs, Jr., 1990 *'' Procambarus kilbyi'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus lagniappe'' Black, 1968 *'' Procambarus latipleurum'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus lecontei'' (Hagen, 1870) *'' Procambarus leitheuseri'' Franz & Hobbs, 1983 *'' Procambarus leonensis'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus lepidodactylus'' Hobbs, 1947 *'' Procambarus lewisi'' Hobbs & Walton, 1959 *'' Procambarus liberorum'' Fitzpatrick, 1978 syn. ''Procambarus ferrugineus'' Hobbs & Robison, 1988 *'' Procambarus litosternum'' Hobbs, 1947 *'' Procambarus llamasi'' Villalobos, 1954 *'' Procambarus lophotus'' Hobbs & Walton, 1960 *'' Procambarus lucifugus'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus lunzi'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus lylei'' Fitzpatrick & Hobbs, 1971 *'' Procambarus mancus'' Hobbs & Walton, 1957 *'' Procambarus marthae'' Hobbs, 1975 *'' Procambarus medialis'' Hobbs, 1975 *'' Procambarus mexicanus'' (Erichson, 1846) *'' Procambarus milleri'' Hobbs, 1971 *'' Procambarus mirandai'' Villalobos, 1954 *'' Procambarus morrisi'' Hobbs, Jr. & Franz, 1991 *'' Procambarus natchitochae'' Penn, 1953 *'' Procambarus nechesae'' Hobbs, Jr., 1990 *'' Procambarus nigrocinctus'' Hobbs, Jr., 1990 *'' Procambarus niveus'' Hobbs & Villalobos, 1964 *'' Procambarus nueces'' Hobbs, Jr. & Hobbs III, 1995 *'' Procambarus oaxacae'' Hobbs, 1973 *'' Procambarus okaloosae'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus olmecorum'' Hobbs, 1987 *'' Procambarus orcinus'' Hobbs & Means, 1972 *'' Procambarus ortmannii'' Villalobos, 1949 *''

Procambarus ouachitae ''Procambarus'' is a genus of crayfish in the family Cambaridae, all native to North and Central America. It includes a number of troglobitic species, and the marbled crayfish (''marmorkrebs''), which is parthenogenetic. Originally described as a ...

'' Penn, 1956 *'' Procambarus paeninsulanus'' (Faxon, 1914) *'' Procambarus pallidus'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus paradoxus'' (Ortmann, 1906) *'' Procambarus parasimulans'' Hobbs & Robison, 1982 *'' Procambarus pearsei'' (Creaser, 1934) *'' Procambarus penni'' Hobbs, 1951 *'' Procambarus pentastylus'' Walls & Black, 2008 *'' Procambarus petersi'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Procambarus pictus'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus pilosimanus'' (Ortmann, 1906) *'' Procambarus planirostris'' Penn, 1953 *'' Procambarus plumimanus'' Hobbs & Walton, 1958 *'' Procambarus pogum'' Fitzpatrick, 1978 *'' Procambarus primaevus'' (Packard, 1880) *'' Procambarus pubescens'' (Faxon, 1884) *'' Procambarus pubischelae'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus pycnogonopodus'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus pygmaeus'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus raneyi'' Hobbs, 1953 *'' Procambarus rathbunae'' (Hobbs, 1940) *'' Procambarus regalis'' Hobbs & Robison, 1988 *'' Procambarus regiomontanus'' Villalobos, 1954 *'' Procambarus reimeri'' Hobbs, 1979 *'' Procambarus riojai'' (Villalobos, 1944) *'' Procambarus roberti'' Villalobos & Hobbs, 1974 *'' Procambarus rodriguezi'' Hobbs, 1943 *''

Procambarus rogersi ''Procambarus'' is a genus of crayfish in the family Cambaridae, all native to North and Central America. It includes a number of troglobitic species, and the marbled crayfish (''marmorkrebs''), which is parthenogenetic. Originally described as a ...

'' (Hobbs, 1938) *'' Procambarus ruthveni'' Pearse, 1911 *'' Procambarus sbordonii'' Hobbs, 1977 *'' Procambarus seminolae'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus shermani'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus simulans'' (Faxon, 1884) *'' Procambarus spiculifer'' (LeConte, 1856) *'' Procambarus steigmani'' Hobbs, Jr., 1991 *'' Procambarus strenthi'' Hobbs, 1977 *'' Procambarus suttkusi'' Hobbs, 1953 *'' Procambarus talpoides'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Procambarus texanus'' Hobbs, 1971 *'' Procambarus teziutlanensis'' (Villalobos, 1947) *'' Procambarus tlapacoyanensis'' (Villalobos, 1947) *'' Procambarus toltecae'' Hobbs, 1943 *'' Procambarus troglodytes'' (LeConte, 1856) *'' Procambarus truculentus'' Hobbs, 1954 *'' Procambarus tulanei'' Penn, 1953 *'' Procambarus vazquezae'' Villalobos, 1954 (species name often misspelled ''vasquezae'') *'' Procambarus veracruzanus'' Villalobos, 1954 *'' Procambarus verrucosus'' Hobbs, 1952 *'' Procambarus versutus'' (Hagen, 1870) *'' Procambarus viaeviridis'' (Faxon, 1914) *'' Procambarus villalobosi'' Hobbs, 1969 *'' Procambarus vioscai'' Penn, 1946 *'' Procambarus virginalis'' (Lyko, 2017) *'' Procambarus williamsoni'' (Ortmann, 1905) *'' Procambarus xilitlae'' Hobbs & Grubbs, 1982 *'' Procambarus xochitlanae'' Hobbs, 1975 *'' Procambarus youngi'' Hobbs, 1942 *'' Procambarus zapoapensis'' Villalobos, 1954 *'' Procambarus zihuateutlensis'' Villalobos, 1950 *''

Procambarus zonangulus ''Procambarus zonangulus'', the white river crawfish, white river crayfish or southern white river crayfish, is a species of freshwater crayfish. Distribution ''Procambarus zonangulus'' was originally described from Jefferson County, Hardin ...

'' Hobbs, Jr. & Hobbs III, 1990

References

External links

* *
Key to the subgenera of ''Procambarus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q141175 Cambaridae Freshwater crustaceans of North America Crustacean genera Taxa named by Arnold Edward Ortmann Taxonomy articles created by Polbot