Cambarus bartonii

Cambarus bartonii is a species of crayfish native to eastern North America, where it is called the common crayfish^[1] or Appalachian brook crayfish.^[2]

C. 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.^[3] The locality where his specimen was captured is not known, but is thought to be near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1]

C. bartonii lives in fast–flowing, cool, rocky streams as well as shallow lakes,^[4] 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. bartoni is restricted to the Appalachian Mountains and their foothills.^[1]

Colouration is usually plain dark brown, although mottling is occasionally seen, as is a saddle-shaped marking.^[5]

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.^[6]

Cambarus bartonii is included as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.^[7]

References