| Cambarus bartonii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Family: | Cambaridae |
| Genus: | Cambarus |
| Species: | C. bartonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Cambarus bartonii (Fabricius, 1798) | |
| Synonyms [3] | |
| |
Cambarus bartonii is a species of crayfish native to eastern North America, where it is called the common crayfish [3] or Appalachian brook crayfish. [2]
Cambarus bartonii was the first crayfish to be described from North America, when Johan Christian Fabricius published it under the name Astacus bartonii in his 1798 work Supplementum entomologiae systematicae. [4] The locality where his specimen was captured is not known, but is thought to be near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [3]
Cambarus bartonii lives in fast–flowing, cool, rocky streams as well as shallow lakes, [5] and is found in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, and in the United States from Maine to Alabama. [2] In the south of its range, C. bartonii is restricted to the Appalachian Mountains and their foothills. [3]
Colouration is usually plain dark brown, although mottling is occasionally seen, as is a saddle-shaped marking. [6]
Several subspecies of C. bartonii have been recognised, but it is unclear how advisable this is, and work is ongoing to determine patterns of infraspecific variation. [7]
Cambarus bartonii is included as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. [1]
