Orconectes

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Orconectes
Orconectes.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Cambaridae
Genus: Orconectes
Cope, 1872
Type species
Orconectes inermis
Cope, 1872

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. [1]

Contents

Due to their subterranean habitat, they are usually depigmented, often blind, and are long-lived. Ages of 176 years have been claimed for O. australis, though this was reduced to ≤22 years in a 2012 study. [2]

Taxonomy

The genus Orconectes was erected in 1872 by Edward Drinker Cope to house Astacus pellucidus (now Orconectes pellucidus ) and his new species, Orconectes inermis . [3]

Prior to the 2017 review by Oxford university, the genus contained 85 species in 11 subgenera. The Faxonius subgenus was raised to a full genus, and the majority of species formerly recorded as Orconectes were moved there. Following the review, approximately 8 species are known: [1]

O. pellucidus (Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA) Orconectes pellucidus (cave crayfish) (Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA).jpg
O. pellucidus (Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA)


Scientific nameAuthorityCommon name Red List status [4] Type locality
O. australis (Rhoades, 1941)southern cave crayfish Status iucn LC icon.svg Shelta Cavern, Madison County, Alabama
O. barri Buhay & Crandall, 2008Cumberland Plateau cave crayfish Status iucn DD icon.svg Tonya's Cave, Wayne County, Kentucky
O. incomptus Hobbs & Barr, 1972Tennessee cave crayfish Status iucn VU icon.svg Cherry Cave, Jackson County, Tennessee
O. inermis Cope, 1872ghost crayfish Status iucn LC icon.svg Wyandotte Caves, Crawford County, Indiana
O. i. testii (Hay, 1891)unarmed crayfish Status iucn LC icon.svg Mayfield's Cave, Monroe County, Indiana
O. packardi Rhoades, 1944Appalachian cave crayfish Status iucn EN icon.svg Cumberland Crystal Cave, Pulaski County, Kentucky
O. pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844)Mammoth Cave crayfish Status iucn LC icon.svg Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
O. sheltae Cooper & Cooper, 1997Shelta cave crayfish Status iucn CR icon.svg Shelta Cave, Madison County, Alabama
O. stygocaneyi Hobbs III, 2001Caney Mountain cave crayfish Status iucn LC icon.svg Mud Cave, Caney Mountain Conservation Area, Ozark County, Missouri

References

  1. 1 2 Keith A Crandall; Sammy De Grave. "An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list". The Crayfish and Lobster Taxonomy Browser. Oxford University Press.
  2. Michael P. Venarsky (2012). "Re-examining extreme longevity of the cave crayfish Orconectes australis using new mark–recapture data: a lesson on the limitations of iterative size-at-age models" . Freshwater Biology. 57 (7): 1471–1481. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02812.x.
  3. Keith A. Crandall; James W. Fetzner, Jr.; Horton H. Hobbs, Jr. (2001). "Orconectes Cope, 1872". Tree of Life Web Project.
  4. "Search". IUCN Red List . IUCN . Retrieved August 21, 2022.