Cambarus

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Genus of crayfishes

title: "Cambarus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cambaridae", "freshwater-crustaceans-of-north-america", "decapod-genera", "taxa-named-by-wilhelm-ferdinand-erichson"] description: "Genus of crayfishes" topic_path: "general/cambaridae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambarus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of crayfishes ::

| image=Chattooga River Crayfish (14174938652).jpg |image_caption=Cambarus scotti | taxon = Cambarus | authority = Erichson, 1846 | type_species = Cambarus bartonii | type_species_authority = Fabricius, 1798

Cambarus is a large and diverse genus of crayfish from the United States and Canada. The adults range in size from about 5 cm up to approximately 15 cm.

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 form ninety degree angles with the central appendage, allowing for their identification. Unlike the genus Procambarus whose first pleopod tends to have three processes at the tip, Cambarus has only one or two. Cambarus reach 17–26 mm carapace lengths in their first year, while average adult carapace length ranges from 55–62 mm. 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 to northern Florida. However, the genus extends as far westward as the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, inhabiting a variety of freshwater 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 webs as they help maintain water quality through consumption of algae.

Vulnerability

One of the largest crayfish genera, Cambarus includes a sizable number of vulnerable species. Cave-dwellers like Cambarus jonesi are at risk due to their lack of genetic diversity 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 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 chitinous exoskeletons leaves them more vulnerable to predation and injury. Many species of Cambarus continue to grow well into adulthood.

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

| File:Cambarus aculabrum.jpg | Cambarus aculabrum | File:Big Sandy crayfish (16382866013).jpg | Cambarus callainus | File:Cambarus georgiae (3086810921).jpg | Cambarus georgiae | File:Blue Crayfish - Cambarus monongalensis (165812772).jpg | Cambarus monongalensis | File:Blackbarred Crayfish (13990939860).jpg | Cambarus unestami

Classification

The genus Cambarus contains around 100 species, many of which are listed on the IUCN Red List. Species in the genus were formerly divided among 12 subgenera. In a 2017 study, these subgenera were found to lack any phylogenetic validity and were therefore eliminated.

  • Cambarus aculabrum Hobbs & Brown, 1987 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] – Benton County cave crayfish
  • Cambarus acuminatus Faxon, 1884 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] - Acuminate Crayfish
  • Cambarus adustus Thoma, Fetzner, Stocker and Loughman, 2016 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] - Dusky Mudbug
  • Cambarus aldermanorum J. E. Cooper and Price, 2010 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus andersoni Jones and Eversole, 2015 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus angularis Hobbs & R. W. Bouchard, 1994 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]]
  • Cambarus appalachiensis Loughman, Welsh and Thoma, 2017 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus asperimanus Faxon, 1914 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus bartonii (Fabricius, 1798) [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Appalachian Brook Crayfish
  • Cambarus batchi Schuster, 1973 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – bluegrass crayfish
  • Cambarus bouchardi Hobbs, 1970 [[File:Status iucn VU icon.svg|24px|VU]] – Big South Fork crayfish
  • Cambarus brachydactylus Hobbs, 1953 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus brimleyorum Cooper, 2006 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus buntingi R. W. Bouchard, 1973 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Bunting crayfish
  • Cambarus callainus Thoma, Loughman & Fetzner, 2014 - Big Sandy crayfish
  • Cambarus carinirostris Hay, 1914 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Rock Crayfish
  • Cambarus carolinus (Erichson, 1846) [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus catagius Hobbs & Perkins, 1967 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – Greensboro Burrowing Crayfish
  • Cambarus causeyi Reimer, 1966 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus chasmodactylus James, 1966 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – New River crayfish
  • Cambarus chaugaensis Prins & Hobbs, 1972 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Chauga crayfish
  • Cambarus clairitae Schuster and Taylor, 2016 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus clivosus Taylor, Soucek & Organ, 2006 [[File:Status iucn VU icon.svg|24px|VU]]
  • Cambarus conasaugaensis Hobbs & Hobbs III, 1962 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus coosae Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus coosawattae Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]] – Coosawattae crayfish
  • Cambarus cracens R. W. Bouchard & Hobbs, 1976 [[File:Status iucn EN icon.svg|24px|EN]]
  • Cambarus crinipes R. W. Bouchard, 1973 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus cryptodytes Hobbs, 1941 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Dougherty Plain cave crayfish
  • Cambarus cumberlandensis Hobbs & R. W. Bouchard, 1973 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Cumberland crayfish
  • Cambarus cymatilis Hobbs, 1970 [[File:Status iucn EN icon.svg|24px|EN]] – Conasauga blue burrower
  • Cambarus davidi J. E. Cooper, 2000 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Carolina Ladle Crayfish
  • Cambarus deweesae R. W. Bouchard & Etnier, 1979 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – valley flame crayfish
  • Cambarus distans Rhoades, 1944 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – boxclaw crawfish
  • Cambarus diupalma Jones and Eversole, 2015 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus doughertyensis Cooper & Skelton, 2003 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] - Dougherty burrowing crayfish
  • Cambarus dubius Faxon, 1884 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – upland burrowing crayfish
  • Cambarus ectopistes Loughman & Williams, 2021 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus eeseeohensis Thoma, 2005 [[File:Status iucn VU icon.svg|24px|VU]]
  • Cambarus elkensis Jezerinac & Stocker, 1993 [[File:Status iucn VU icon.svg|24px|VU]] – Elk River crayfish
  • Cambarus englishi Hobbs & Hall, 1972 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus extraneus Hagen, 1870 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – Chickamauga crayfish
  • Cambarus fasciatus Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – Etowah crayfish
  • Cambarus friaufi Hobbs, 1953 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – hairy crayfish
  • Cambarus gentryi Hobbs, 1970 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus georgiae Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Little Tennessee crayfish
  • Cambarus girardianus Faxon, 1884 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus graysoni Faxon, 1914 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Two-spot crayfish
  • Cambarus guenteri Loughman, Henkanaththegedara, Fetzner and Thoma, 2017 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus halli Hobbs, 1968 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus hamulatus (Cope, 1881) [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Prickly cave crayfish
  • Cambarus harti Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn EN icon.svg|24px|EN]] – Piedmont blue burrower
  • Cambarus hatfeildi Z. J. Loughman, 2013 [[File: Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus hazardi Loughman, Henkanaththegedara, Fetzner and Thoma, 2017 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus hiwasseensis Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Hiwassee crayfish
  • Cambarus hobbsorum J. E. Cooper, 2001 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Rocky River crayfish
  • Cambarus howardi Hobbs & Hall, 1969 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Chattahoochee crayfish
  • Cambarus hubbsi Creaser, 1931 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus hubrichti Hobbs, 1952 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – Salem cave crayfish
  • Cambarus hystricosus Cooper & Cooper, 2003 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus jezerinaci Thoma, 2000 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus johni Cooper, 2006 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus jonesi Hobbs & Barr, 1960 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Alabama cave crayfish
  • Cambarus laconensis Buhay & Crandall, 2009 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] - Lacon Exit cave crayfish
  • Cambarus latimanus (Le Conte, 1856) [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus lenati J. E. Cooper, 2000 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]] – Broad River crayfish
  • Cambarus lentiginosus Jones and Eversole, 2016 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus longirostris Faxon, 1885 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus longulus Girard, 1852 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus loughmani Foltz II et al., 2018 - Blue Teays mudbug
  • Cambarus maculatus Hobbs & Pflieger, 1988 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – freckled crayfish
  • Cambarus magerae Thoma and Fetzner, 2015 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus manningi Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus monongalensis Ortmann, 1905 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] - Monongahela or blue crayfish
  • Cambarus nerterius Hobbs, 1964 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]] – Greenbrier cave crayfish
  • Cambarus nodosus R. W. Bouchard & Hobbs, 1976 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus obeyensis Hobbs & Shoup, 1947 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] – Obey crayfish
  • Cambarus obstipus Hall, 1959 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus ortmanni Williamson, 1907 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Ortmann mudbug
  • Cambarus parrishi Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – Hiwassee headwater crayfish
  • Cambarus parvoculus Hobbs & Shoup, 1947 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – mountain midget crayfish
  • Cambarus pauleyi Loughman, Thoma, Fetzner and Stocker, 2015 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus pecki (Hobbs, 1967) [[File:Status iucn EN icon.svg|24px|EN]] - phantom cave crayfish
  • Cambarus polypilosus Loughman & Williams, 2018 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus pristinus Hobbs, 1965 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – pristine crayfish
  • Cambarus pyronotus R. W. Bouchard, 1978 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – fireback crayfish
  • Cambarus reburrus Prins, 1968 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – French Broad crayfish
  • Cambarus reduncus Hobbs, 1956 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus reflexus Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus robustus Girard, 1852 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – big water crayfish
  • Cambarus rusticiformis Rhoades, 1944 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Depression crayfish
  • Cambarus sciotensis Rhoades, 1944 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Teays River crayfish
  • Cambarus scotti Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Chattooga crayfish
  • Cambarus setosus Faxon, 1889 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]] – bristly cave crayfish
  • Cambarus smilax Loughman, Simon, and Welch, 2011 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|NE]] – Greenbrier crayfish
  • Cambarus speciosus Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]]
  • Cambarus speleocoopi Buhay & Crandall, 2009 [[File:Status iucn EN icon.svg|24px|EN]] - Sweet Home Alabama Crayfish
  • Cambarus sphenoides Hobbs, 1968 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]]
  • Cambarus spicatus Hobbs, 1956 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] - Broad River spiny crayfish
  • Cambarus stockeri Thoma, 2011 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus striatus Hay, 1902 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Hay Crayfish
  • Cambarus strigosus Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – lean crayfish
  • Cambarus subterraneus Hobbs III, 1993 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] – Delaware County cave crayfish
  • Cambarus tartarus Hobbs & M. R. Cooper, 1972 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] – Oklahoma cave crayfish
  • Cambarus taylori Loughman, Henkanaththegedara, Fetzner and Thoma, 2017 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus tenebrosus Hay, 1902 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – cavespring crayfish
  • Cambarus theepiensis Loughman, Foltz, Garrison and Welsh, 2013 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]]
  • Cambarus truncatus Hobbs, 1981 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|NT]] – Oconee burrowing crayfish
  • Cambarus tuckasegee Cooper & Schofield, 2002 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]]
  • Cambarus unestami Hobbs & Hall, 1969 [[File:Status iucn LC icon.svg|24px|LC]] – Blackbarred crayfish
  • Cambarus veitchorum J. E. Cooper & M. R. Cooper, 1997 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] – White Spring cave crayfish
  • Cambarus veteranus Faxon, 1914 [[File:Status iucn DD icon.svg|24px|DD]] – Guyandotte River crayfish
  • Cambarus williami R. W. Bouchard & J. W. Bouchard, 1995 [[File:Status iucn NT icon.svg|24px|NT]] – Brawleys Fork crayfish
  • Cambarus zophonastes Hobbs & Bedinger, 1964 [[File:Status iucn CR icon.svg|24px|CR]] – Hell Creek cave crayfish

References

References

  1. Horton H. Hobbs Jr.. (1974). "A Checklist of the North and Middle American Crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidae and Cambaridae)". [[Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology]].
  2. Longshaw, Matt. (2016). "Biology and Ecology of Crayfish". CRC Press.
  3. Cordeiro, J.. (2014). "Cambarus diogenes".
  4. Buhay, J. (February 2007). "Molecular taxonomy in the dark: Evolutionary history, phylogeography, and diversity of cave crayfish in the subgenus Aviticambarus, genus Cambarus". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  5. Holdich, David M.. (2002). "Biology of Freshwater Crayfish". Blackwell Science.
  6. {{ITIS
  7. "Search". [[IUCN]].
  8. James W. Fetzner Jr.. (January 14, 2008). "Genus ''Cambarus'' Erichson, 1846". [[Carnegie Museum of Natural History]].
  9. (September 2017). "An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list". Journal of Crustacean Biology.
  10. (22 February 2019). "Redescription and circumscription of the Acuminate Crayfish, Cambarus acuminatus Faxon, 1884 (Decapoda: Cambaridae)". Zootaxa.
  11. {{ITIS
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  15. (2014). "''Cambarus (Puncticambarus) callainus'', a new species of crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the Big Sandy River basin in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, USA". [[Zootaxa]].
  16. {{ITIS
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  18. (December 2021). "Cambarus ectopistes sp. nov., a new stream-dwelling crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the French Broad, Pigeon, and Nolichucky River watersheds in the Appalachian Mountain region of North Carolina and Tennessee, USA". Zootaxa.
  19. {{ITIS
  20. {{ITIS
  21. (2009). "Taxonomic revision of cave crayfish in the genus ''Cambarus'' subgenus ''Aviticambraus'' (Decapoda: Cambaridae) with descriptions of two new species, ''C. speleocoopi'' and ''C. laconensis'', endemic to Alabama, U.S.A.". [[Journal of Crustacean Biology]].
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