Faxonius maletae

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Faxonius maletae
Status TNC G2.svg
Imperiled  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Cambaridae
Genus: Faxonius
Species:
F. maletae
Binomial name
Faxonius maletae
(Walls, 1972) [3]
Synonyms [3]
  • Orconectes difficilis maletae Walls, 1972
  • Orconectes maletae [1]

Faxonius maletae, [4] sometimes called the Kisatchie painted crayfish or Kisatchie painted crawfish, [5] is a species of crawdad in the Cambaridae family. The specific epithet maletae is in honor of the discoverer's wife, author Maleta M. Walls, who helped collect many of the original specimens. [3] It was originally described as a subspecies of Orconectes difficilis, [3] but later elevated to full species status. [6] The common name refers to the Kisatchie National Forest, near where the original specimens were found in Bayou Santabarb. [3]

Contents

Description

Kisatchie painted crawfish are brown or olive with red, blue, and white to yellow markings. [5] The red is mainly on the central joints of the pereiopods, the postorbital ridges, and a little on the posterior margins of the uropods (tail fins) and abdominal segments. [5] The fingers of the long, stout chelae (claws) are in order from tip to base, red, yellow/cream, blue, and greenish brown/brown. [5]

Its cephalothorax is about 40 millimetres (1.6 in) long, [5] to a maximum of 4.4 centimetres (1.7 in). [6] The rostrum (beak) is acuminate and has lateral spines. [5] It has a closed areola (the hourglass shaped lines on the back). [5]

It is very similar to Faxonius difficilis but has a central projection that is longer and more curved, with a more smoothly curved expanded mesial process. [3] [6] It can be distinguished from F. palmeri by its shorter gonopods [6] (which may reach the third coxa) and a shorter and stouter central projection. [3] It is fairly indistinguishable from F. hathawayi blacki except that form I (breeding) males have an apex of their first pleopod (swimming leg) that is slender, long, and curved. [5] They only have simple copulatory hooks on their third legs. [6] It is also unique among members of its clade for having a structure like a sulcus caused by a single cephalomedian (anterior) prominence. [7]

Behaviour

Form I males are found in low-water conditions between June and October, peaking in September–October. [6] Males have mating plugs in October. [6] Kisatchie painted crawfish reproduce with the male depositing sperm into an external receptacle under the female's abdomen. [5] She then fertilizes her eggs as she excretes them. [5] Both eggs and hatchlings remain with the mother, held under her body by her pleopods until they are big enough to swim and crawl without assistance. [5] June and July are when juveniles are most commonly found. [6]

Habitat and ecology

F. maletae prefers clear flowing streams with sandy bottoms and plenty of plant litter and rocks. [1] Occasionally it found in reed beds. [1]

It eats carrion and plants. [5]

Distribution

The Kisatchie painted crayfish has a very restricted and fragmented range. [1] It has been found in Rapides, [2] Natchitoches, [8] and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana; [5] [6] Upshur, [3] Titus, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, and Marion Counties, Texas; [8] Pittsburg and Latimer Counties, Oklahoma; and Washington County, Arkansas. [1] By river, it is found in Bayou Teche, Kisatchie Bayou, [5] tributaries of the Red River of the South, [6] and in Cypress Creek. [1] There is also evidence of it interbreeding with F. difficilis in Coal County, Oklahoma. [3] Some consider the observations in Louisiana to be of F. hathawayi [1] or F. h. blacki [2] and not F. maletae.

Phylogenetic study of the Texas populations indicate they are distinct genetically, perhaps even a separate cryptic species. [8] The populations also inhabited separate ecological niches, which may further drive speciation. [8]

Threats

Kisatchie painted crayfish are susceptible to increased sediment in the water, particularly related to agricultural runoff and logging. [1] The loss of shade from their practices also negatively impacts the animal. [5] Habitat destruction is specifically a concern in Louisiana, [9] where local extinction has happened. [1] With this and the disjointed range of the species, [9] the population is in decline. [1] [8]

In 1996 the species was listed by the IUCN Red List as being vulnerable, but as of 2010 it is listed as data deficient. [1] NatureServe rated the species as G2 (imperiled) in 2009. [2] The American Fisheries Society rated it "Threatened" in 2007. [9]

Taxonomy

F. maletae was formerly in the Hespericambarus subgenus of Orconectes , originally described by Joseph F. Fitzpatrick Jr. [7] The name derives from the Latin hesperius (literally 'western') and cambarus [7] (lit. 'shrimp'). Members of Hespericambarus included: [7]

However, following the re-classification to Faxonius, no subgenera now exist in the new genus as they were considered not to be monophyletic. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusty crayfish</span> Large species of freshwater crayfish which is native to the United States

The rusty crayfish is a large, aggressive species of freshwater crayfish which is native to the United States, in the Ohio River Basin in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Its range is rapidly expanding across much of eastern North America, displacing native crayfishes in the process. The rusty crayfish was first captured in Illinois in 1973, and has been collected at over 20 locations in the northern portion of the state. In 2005, F. rusticus was found for the first time west of the Continental Divide, in the John Day River, Oregon, which runs into the Columbia River.

<i>Orconectes</i> Genus of crayfish

Orconectes is a genus of cave dwelling freshwater crayfish, endemic to suitable habitats in the eastern United States. Surface dwelling species, formerly categorised here, were moved to Faxonius in 2017.

Faxonius hathawayi blacki, the Calcasieu crayfish, is a sub-species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Louisiana. The common name refers to the Calcasieu River, near where the original specimens were found in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.

Faxonius cooperi, the Flint River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States. The common name refers to the Flint River, where the original specimens were found. F. cooperi is indigenous in Alabama and Tennessee.

Faxonius deanae, the Conchas crayfish is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States. The common name refers to the Conchas Lake, where the original specimens were found.

Faxonius jonesi, the Sucarnoochee River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. The common name refers to the Sucarnoochee River, near where the original specimens were found in Kemper County, Mississippi. It is endemic to Mississippi and Alabama in the United States.

Faxonius menae, the Mena crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States. The specific epithet and common name both refer to Mena, Arkansas, where the original specimens were found.

Faxonius peruncus, the Big Creek crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Missouri. The common name refers to Big Creek, where the original specimens were found.

Faxonius quadruncus, the St. Francis River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Missouri. The common name refers to the St. Francis River where the first examples were found.

Faxonius stannardi, the Little Wabash crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Illinois. The common name refers to the Little Wabash River, where the original specimens were found.

Faxonius wrighti, the Hardin crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States. The common name refers to Hardin County, Tennessee, where the original specimens were found.

<i>Faxonius limosus</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius limosus, synonym Orconectes limosus, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is native to the east coast of North America, from Quebec to the lower James River, Virginia, but has also been introduced to Europe. It is known commonly as the spinycheek crayfish or Kamberkrebs in German.

<i>Faxonius virilis</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius virilis is a species of crayfish known as the virile crayfish, northern crayfish,eastern crayfish, and lesser known as the lake crayfish or common crawfish. Faxonius virilis was reclassified in August 2017, and the genus was changed from Orconectes to Faxonius. It is native to the central United States, east to tributaries of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River in New York and to much of Canada.

Faxonius alabamensis, the Alabama crayfish, is a species of freshwater crayfish that lives in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

<i>Faxonius erichsonianus</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius erichsonianus is a species in the family Cambaridae ("crayfishes"), in the order Decapoda. A common name for Faxonius erichsonianus is reticulate crayfish. Faxonius erichsonianus is found in the south eastern United States of America.

<i>Faxonius validus</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius validus, the powerful crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is found in North America.

<i>Faxonius</i> Genus of crayfishes

Faxonius is a genus of freshwater crayfish in the family Cambaridae. There are more than 90 described species in Faxonius. It includes the rusty crayfish, an invasive species in North America, and three species, F. virilis, F. immunis, and F. limosus, that are invasive to Europe.

Faxonius difficilis, the painted crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States.

<i>Faxonius lancifer</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius lancifer, the shrimp crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is widespread in the South-Eastern United States.

Faxonius acares, or the redspotted stream crayfish, is a species of freshwater crayfish endemic to the Arkansas River and the Ouachita River of the Ouachita National Forest and Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Adams, S.; Schuster, G.A. & Taylor, C.A (2010). "Orconectes maletae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T15433A4584468. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T15433A4584468.en . Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Orconectes maletae". NatureServe Explorer An online encyclopedia of life. 7.1. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Walls, Jerry G. (29 February 1972). "Three New Crawfishes Related to Orconectes difficilis (Faxon) (Decapoda: Astacidae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 84 (53): 449–458. ISSN   1943-6327 . Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 Crandall, Keith A; De Grave, Sammy (2017). "An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 37 (5): 615–653. doi: 10.1093/jcbiol/rux070 .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Rare Animals of Louisiana Kisatchie painted crawfish" (PDF). Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Baton Rouge, LA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Walls, Jerry G. (April 2009). Crawfishes of Louisiana (PDF). Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press. pp. 131–132. ISBN   9780807134092. OCLC   255142426 . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Fitzpatrick, Jr., Joseph F. (25 February 1987). Kensley, Brian (ed.). "The Subgenera of the Crawfish Genus Orconectes (Decapoda: Cambaridae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 100 (1): 44–74. ISSN   0006-324X . Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, Larrimy Beth (7 April 2017). "Phylogenetic and ecological analysis of two populations of the Kitsatchie Painted Crayfish, Faxonius maletae (Decapoda: Cambaridae)". Biology Theses. Paper 44: 1–63. hdl:10950/576. OCLC   1003859602.
  9. 1 2 3 Taylor, Christopher A.; Schuster, Guenter A.; Cooper, John E.; DiStefano, Robert J.; Eversole, Arnold G.; Hamr, Premek; Hobbs III, Horton H.; Robison, Henry W.; Skelton, Christopher E.; Thoma, Roger F. (August 2007). "A Reassessment of the Conservation Status of Crayfishes of the United States and Canada after 10+ Years of Increased Awareness". Fisheries. 32 (8): 372–389. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(2007)32[372:AROTCS]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   1548-8446. OCLC   4902547044.
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