Cambarus Distans
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Cambarus Distans
OR:
Cambarus Distans on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

''Cambarus'' is a large and diverse
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...
from the United States and Canada. The adults range in size from about up to approximately .


Description

The genus ''Cambarus'' is the second largest freshwater crayfish genus inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere, with only sixty fewer species than the genus '' Procambarus''. Though ''Cambarus'' are varied across species, the two terminal elements that make up the male form I
gonopod Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millipe ...
form ninety degree angles with the central appendage, allowing for their identification. Unlike the genus '' Procambarus'' whose first
pleopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...
tends to have three processes at the tip, ''Cambarus'' has only one or two. ''Cambarus'' reach
carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...
lengths in their first year, while average adult carapace length ranges from . The name ''Cambarus'' comes from an alteration of Latin ''cammarus'', meaning "lobster". As a genus containing nearly 100 species, ''Cambarus's'' coloration is variable. '' Cambarus bartonii'' is dark brown, while species like '' Cambarus pauleyi'' range from subtle to vibrant blues and reds. Other species are light green or grayish in color.


Biogeography

Most species of ''Cambarus'' are restricted to the United States and Canada. They are distributed along the eastern coast, extending from
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
to northern
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. However, the genus extends as far westward as the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
of
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
and
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, inhabiting a variety of
freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
environments.


Habitat

''Cambarus'' occupy a range of freshwater environments including streams, rivers, lakes, and burrows. Burrowing species of the genus include '' Cambarus dubius''. ''Cambarus'' also include many cave-dwelling species, both stygobites and stygophiles. While salinity and temperature changes minimally affect ''Cambarus'', the genus has shown an intolerance to pollution.


Ecology


Diet

Like other crayfish, ''Cambarus'' are foragers. Diets are largely plant-based, though ''Cambarus'' also consume small marine organisms like molluscs, larvae, tadpoles and amphibian eggs. ''Cambarus'' consume small rodents or birds when available. In their first year, ''Cambarus'' typically consume 1-4% of their overall body-weight each day. The genus is central to many freshwater
food web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Position in the food web, or trophic level, is used in ecology to broadly classify organisms as autotrophs or he ...
s as they help maintain water quality through consumption of
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
.


Vulnerability

One of the largest crayfish genera, ''Cambarus'' includes a sizable number of vulnerable species. Cave-dwellers like ''
Cambarus jonesi ''Cambarus jonesi'', the Alabama cave crayfish, is a small, freshwater crayfish endemic to Alabama in the United States. It is an underground species known only from 12 caves. Distribution The Alabama cave crayfish is known from cave systems in t ...
'' are at risk due to their lack of
genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...
and low population count. Other species like ''Cambarus veteranus'' are at risk due to human practices like logging and mining, which increase sediment amounts in freshwater environments. Increased sediment causes these freshwater environments to be uninhabitable, and ''Cambarus'' are forced to relocate as a result.


Growth

Molting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...
occurs among ''Cambarus'' approximately 5-10 times during their first year, and 3-5 times during subsequent years. ''Cambarus'' remain relatively inactive during periods of molting, as the shedding of
chitin Chitin (carbon, C8hydrogen, H13oxygen, O5nitrogen, N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of N-Acetylglucosamine, ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cell ...
ous
exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...
s leaves them more vulnerable to predation and injury. Many species of ''Cambarus'' continue to grow well into
adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
hood.


Reproduction

''Cambarus'' typically mate in the early spring. Both '' Cambarus bartonii'' and '' Cambarus robustus'' only mate once during their three-year life span, with females of both carrying fewer eggs than those of the genus '' Orconectes''.


Gallery


Classification

The genus ''Cambarus'' contains around 100 species, many of which are listed on the
IUCN Red List 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 an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...
. Species in the genus were formerly divided among 12
subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( 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 the ge ...
. In a 2017 study, these subgenera were found to lack any phylogenetic validity and were therefore eliminated. *'' Cambarus aculabrum'' Hobbs & Brown, 1987 – Benton County cave crayfish *'' Cambarus acuminatus'' Faxon, 1884 - Acuminate Crayfish *'' Cambarus adustus'' Thoma, Fetzner, Stocker and Loughman, 2016 - Dusky Mudbug *'' Cambarus aldermanorum'' J. E. Cooper and Price, 2010 *'' Cambarus andersoni'' Jones and Eversole, 2015 *'' Cambarus angularis'' Hobbs & R. W. Bouchard, 1994 *'' Cambarus appalachiensis'' Loughman, Welsh and Thoma, 2017 *'' Cambarus asperimanus'' Faxon, 1914 *'' Cambarus bartonii'' (Fabricius, 1798) – Appalachian Brook Crayfish *'' Cambarus batchi'' Schuster, 1973 – bluegrass crayfish *'' Cambarus bouchardi'' Hobbs, 1970 – Big South Fork crayfish *'' Cambarus brachydactylus'' Hobbs, 1953 *'' Cambarus brimleyorum'' Cooper, 2006 *'' Cambarus buntingi'' R. W. Bouchard, 1973 – Bunting crayfish *'' Cambarus callainus'' Thoma, Loughman & Fetzner, 2014  - Big Sandy crayfish *'' Cambarus carinirostris'' Hay, 1914 – Rock Crayfish *'' Cambarus carolinus'' (Erichson, 1846) *'' Cambarus catagius'' Hobbs & Perkins, 1967 – Greensboro Burrowing Crayfish *'' Cambarus causeyi'' Reimer, 1966 *'' Cambarus chasmodactylus'' James, 1966 – New River crayfish *'' Cambarus chaugaensis'' Prins & Hobbs, 1972 – Chauga crayfish *'' Cambarus clairitae'' Schuster and Taylor, 2016 *'' Cambarus clivosus'' Taylor, Soucek & Organ, 2006 *'' Cambarus conasaugaensis'' Hobbs & Hobbs III, 1962 *'' Cambarus coosae'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Cambarus coosawattae'' Hobbs, 1981 – Coosawattae crayfish *'' Cambarus cracens'' R. W. Bouchard & Hobbs, 1976 *'' Cambarus crinipes'' R. W. Bouchard, 1973 *'' Cambarus cryptodytes'' Hobbs, 1941 – Dougherty Plain cave crayfish *'' Cambarus cumberlandensis'' Hobbs & R. W. Bouchard, 1973 – Cumberland crayfish *'' Cambarus cymatilis'' Hobbs, 1970 – Conasauga blue burrower *'' Cambarus davidi'' J. E. Cooper, 2000 – Carolina Ladle Crayfish *'' Cambarus deweesae'' R. W. Bouchard & Etnier, 1979 – valley flame crayfish *'' Cambarus distans'' Rhoades, 1944 – boxclaw crawfish *'' Cambarus diupalma'' Jones and Eversole, 2015 *'' Cambarus doughertyensis'' Cooper & Skelton, 2003 - Dougherty burrowing crayfish *'' Cambarus dubius'' Faxon, 1884 – upland burrowing crayfish *'' Cambarus ectopistes'' Loughman & Williams, 2021 *'' Cambarus eeseeohensis'' Thoma, 2005 *'' Cambarus elkensis'' Jezerinac & Stocker, 1993 – Elk River crayfish *'' Cambarus englishi'' Hobbs & Hall, 1972 *'' Cambarus extraneus'' Hagen, 1870 – Chickamauga crayfish *'' Cambarus fasciatus'' Hobbs, 1981 – Etowah crayfish *'' Cambarus friaufi'' Hobbs, 1953 – hairy crayfish *'' Cambarus gentryi'' Hobbs, 1970 *'' Cambarus georgiae'' Hobbs, 1981 – Little Tennessee crayfish *'' Cambarus girardianus'' Faxon, 1884 *'' Cambarus graysoni'' Faxon, 1914 – Two-spot crayfish *'' Cambarus guenteri'' Loughman, Henkanaththegedara, Fetzner and Thoma, 2017 *'' Cambarus halli'' Hobbs, 1968 *'' Cambarus hamulatus'' (Cope, 1881) – Prickly cave crayfish *'' Cambarus harti'' Hobbs, 1981 – Piedmont blue burrower *'' Cambarus hatfeildi'' Z. J. Loughman, 2013 *'' Cambarus hazardi'' Loughman, Henkanaththegedara, Fetzner and Thoma, 2017 *'' Cambarus hiwasseensis'' Hobbs, 1981 – Hiwassee crayfish *'' Cambarus hobbsorum'' J. E. Cooper, 2001 – Rocky River crayfish *'' Cambarus howardi'' Hobbs & Hall, 1969 – Chattahoochee crayfish *'' Cambarus hubbsi'' Creaser, 1931 *''
Cambarus hubrichti ''Cambarus hubrichti'' is a species of decapoda in the family Cambaridae. The species goes by the common name Salem cave crayfish. It is generally an omnivorous species. But, since green plants are scarce in caves it usually eats a proportion o ...
'' Hobbs, 1952 – Salem cave crayfish *'' Cambarus hystricosus'' Cooper & Cooper, 2003 *'' Cambarus jezerinaci'' Thoma, 2000 *'' Cambarus johni'' Cooper, 2006 *''
Cambarus jonesi ''Cambarus jonesi'', the Alabama cave crayfish, is a small, freshwater crayfish endemic to Alabama in the United States. It is an underground species known only from 12 caves. Distribution The Alabama cave crayfish is known from cave systems in t ...
'' Hobbs & Barr, 1960 – Alabama cave crayfish *'' Cambarus laconensis'' Buhay & Crandall, 2009  - Lacon Exit cave crayfish *'' Cambarus latimanus'' (Le Conte, 1856) *'' Cambarus lenati'' J. E. Cooper, 2000 – Broad River crayfish *'' Cambarus lentiginosus'' Jones and Eversole, 2016 *'' Cambarus longirostris'' Faxon, 1885 *'' Cambarus longulus'' Girard, 1852 *'' Cambarus loughmani'' Foltz II ''et al.'', 2018 - Blue Teays mudbug *''
Cambarus maculatus ''Cambarus'' is a large and diverse genus of crayfish from the United States and Canada. The adults range in size from about up to approximately . Description The genus ''Cambarus'' is the second largest freshwater crayfish genus inhabiting t ...
'' Hobbs & Pflieger, 1988 – freckled crayfish *'' Cambarus magerae'' Thoma and Fetzner, 2015 *'' Cambarus manningi'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Cambarus monongalensis'' Ortmann, 1905 - Monongahela or blue crayfish *'' Cambarus nerterius'' Hobbs, 1964 – Greenbrier cave crayfish *'' Cambarus nodosus'' R. W. Bouchard & Hobbs, 1976 *'' Cambarus obeyensis'' Hobbs & Shoup, 1947 – Obey crayfish *'' Cambarus obstipus'' Hall, 1959 *'' Cambarus ortmanni'' Williamson, 1907 – Ortmann mudbug *'' Cambarus parrishi'' Hobbs, 1981 – Hiwassee headwater crayfish *'' Cambarus parvoculus'' Hobbs & Shoup, 1947 – mountain midget crayfish *'' Cambarus pauleyi'' Loughman, Thoma, Fetzner and Stocker, 2015 *'' Cambarus pecki'' (Hobbs, 1967)  - phantom cave crayfish *'' Cambarus polypilosus'' Loughman & Williams, 2018 *'' Cambarus pristinus'' Hobbs, 1965 – pristine crayfish *'' Cambarus pyronotus'' R. W. Bouchard, 1978 – fireback crayfish *'' Cambarus reburrus'' Prins, 1968 – French Broad crayfish *'' Cambarus reduncus'' Hobbs, 1956 *'' Cambarus reflexus'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Cambarus robustus'' Girard, 1852 – big water crayfish *'' Cambarus rusticiformis'' Rhoades, 1944 – Depression crayfish *'' Cambarus sciotensis'' Rhoades, 1944 – Teays River crayfish *''
Cambarus scotti ''Cambarus scotti'', the Chattooga River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemism, endemic to Alabama and Georgia (U.S. State), Georgia. The common name refers to the Chattooga River (Alabama–Georgia), Chattoo ...
'' Hobbs, 1981 – Chattooga crayfish *'' Cambarus setosus'' Faxon, 1889 – bristly cave crayfish *'' Cambarus smilax'' Loughman, Simon, and Welch, 2011 – Greenbrier crayfish *'' Cambarus speciosus'' Hobbs, 1981 *'' Cambarus speleocoopi'' Buhay & Crandall, 2009  - Sweet Home Alabama Crayfish *'' Cambarus sphenoides'' Hobbs, 1968 *'' Cambarus spicatus'' Hobbs, 1956 - Broad River spiny crayfish *'' Cambarus stockeri'' Thoma, 2011 *'' Cambarus striatus'' Hay, 1902 – Hay Crayfish *'' Cambarus strigosus'' Hobbs, 1981 – lean crayfish *'' Cambarus subterraneus'' Hobbs III, 1993 – Delaware County cave crayfish *'' Cambarus tartarus'' Hobbs & M. R. Cooper, 1972 – Oklahoma cave crayfish *'' Cambarus taylori'' Loughman, Henkanaththegedara, Fetzner and Thoma, 2017 *'' Cambarus tenebrosus'' Hay, 1902 – cavespring crayfish *'' Cambarus theepiensis'' Loughman, Foltz, Garrison and Welsh, 2013 *'' Cambarus truncatus'' Hobbs, 1981 – Oconee burrowing crayfish *'' Cambarus tuckasegee'' Cooper & Schofield, 2002 *'' Cambarus unestami'' Hobbs & Hall, 1969 – Blackbarred crayfish *'' Cambarus veitchorum'' J. E. Cooper & M. R. Cooper, 1997 – White Spring cave crayfish *'' Cambarus veteranus'' Faxon, 1914 – Guyandotte River crayfish *'' Cambarus williami'' R. W. Bouchard & J. W. Bouchard, 1995 – Brawleys Fork crayfish *'' Cambarus zophonastes'' Hobbs & Bedinger, 1964 – Hell Creek cave crayfish


References


Further reading

* {{Authority control Cambaridae Freshwater crustaceans of North America Decapod genera Taxa named by Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson