Home/Species/ Longnose Crayfish

Cambarus longirostris

Faxon, 1885

Longnose Crayfish

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

LowThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1127433

Element CodeICMAL07070

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumArthropoda

ClassMalacostraca

OrderDecapoda

FamilyCambaridae

GenusCambarus

Concept Reference

Jones, D. R., and A. G. Eversole. 2015. Two new crayfishes of the genus Cambarus (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from Northern Alabama and South Central Tennessee, U.S.A. Zootaxa 4058(2):151–174.

Taxonomic Comments

Analyses of morphometric data and examination of morphological characters of the crayfish species Cambarus (Hiaticambarus) longirostris revealed the existence of two undescribed species from populations previously considered to be C. longirostris. These have been described as C. andersoni and C. diupalma (Jones and Eversole 2015). A third species, C. lentiginosus has been described by Jones and Eversole (2016).

Conservation Status

Review Date2009-07-01

Change Date1996-02-19

Edition Date2009-07-01

Edition AuthorsCordeiro, J.

Threat ImpactLow

Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

This species is wide ranging and is categorized as of least concern. It is present in more several counties in six different states with a believed extent of occurrence of >200,000 sq. km. As this species is more ecologically adaptable than C. longulus and C. chasmodactylus it is unlikely to be under any major threat of extinction and is often common and stable throughout its range. Some taxonomic uncertainty exists in populations in the extreme southwest and northeast portions of the range but even if these are determined to be different species, the range of the nominal species is still wide enough and secure enough that the species is stable.

Range Extent Comments

This species is found in the Tennessee River Basin upstream from below the mouth of the Sequatchie River: in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia (James 1966). Introduced into headwaters of the Savannah River in South Carolina (Hobbs 1989). It has also been found in Alabama (Schuster and Taylor, 2004).

Occurrences Comments

Known from Alabama from 18 records from the Tennessee River system in northern Alabama and from the Coosa River system (Mirarchi et al., 2004; in appendix 1-2 published separately; Schuster and Taylor, 2004; Schuster et al., 2008). In North Carolina, it is common in French Broad River tributaries in Madison County and in the Nolichucky River system in Yancey (incl. South Toe River), Mitchell, and Avery Cos.; and is also known from one collection from the West Fork French Broad River in Transylvania Co. plus one juvenile in 1987 (identified as C. (H.) sp. cf. longirostris) from the Little Tennessee River in Macon Co. (Simmons and Fraley, 2010).

Threat Impact Comments

Cambarus longirostris has been described as an invasive species (Fuller 2009) and is not currently impacted by any major threats.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

It lives in streams under rocks (Schuster and Taylor, 2004). It has a broader ecology than either of its close relatives C. longulus and C. chasmodactylus and is by far the least ecologically restricted of the three (James 1966). It inhabits large and small freshwater permenant streams, usually found in the riffle areas (James 1966).

Reproduction

In North Carolina, Form I males were collected in late May and September in 11-18C (Simmons and Fraley, 2010).

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Alabama	S2	Yes
Georgia	S1	Yes
Virginia	S3	Yes
Tennessee	S4	Yes
North Carolina	S3	Yes
South Carolina	SNA	No

Roadless Areas (3)

Georgia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Helton Creek	Chattahoochee National Forest	2,348

Virginia (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
New London Bridge Branch	Jefferson National Forest	844
Seng Mountain	Jefferson National Forest	6,428

References (13)

Cooper, J.E. 2010. Annotated checklist of the crayfishes of North Carolina, and correlations of distributions with hydrologic units and physiographic provinces. Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science 126(3):69-76.
Cooper, J. E., and A. L. Braswell. 1995. Observations of North Carolina crayfishes (Decapoda: Cambaridae). Brimleyana 22:87-132.
Crandall, K. A., and S. De Grave. 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.
Hobbs, H.H. 1969. On the distribution and phylogeny of the crayfish genus Cambarus. Pages 93-178 in Holt, P.C. (editor). Part I: Invertebrates, in The distributional history of the biota of the southern Appalachians. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Hobbs, H. H., Jr. 1989. An Illustrated Checklist of the American Crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidae, Cambaridae, and Parastacidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 480:1-236.
Jones, D. R., and A. G. Eversole. 2015. Two new crayfishes of the genus Cambarus (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from Northern Alabama and South Central Tennessee, U.S.A. Zootaxa 4058(2):151–174.
Jones, D. R., and A. G. Eversole. 2016. A new crayfish of the genus Cambarus (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the Flint River drainage in northern Alabama and south central Tennessee, U.S.A. Zootaxa 4103(1):043–053.
McLaughlin, P. A., D. K. Camp, M. V. Angel, E. L. Bousfield, P. Brunel, R. C. Brusca, D. Cadien, A. C. Cohen, K. Conlan, L. G. Eldredge, D. L. Felder, J. W. Goy, T. Haney, B. Hann, R. W. Heard, E. A. Hendrycks, H. H. Hobbs III, J. R. Holsinger, B. Kensley, D. R. Laubitz, S. E. LeCroy, R. Lemaitre, R. F. Maddocks, J. W. Martin, P. Mikkelsen, E. Nelson, W. A. Newman, R. M. Overstreet, W. J. Poly, W. W. Price, J. W. Reid, A. Robertson, D. C. Rogers, A. Ross, M. Schotte, F. Schram, C. Shih, L. Watling, G. D. F. Wilson, and D. D. Turgeon. 2005. Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Crustaceans. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 31. 545 pp.
Mirarchi, R.E., M.A. Bailey, J.T. Garner, T.M. Haggerty, T.L. Best, M.F. Mettee, and P. O'Neil. 2004d. Alabama Wildlife. Volume Four: Conservation and Management Recommendations for Imperiled Wildlife. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 221 pp.
Schuster, G. A. and C.A. Taylor. 2004. Report on the crayfishes of Alabama: literature and museum database review, species list with abbreviated annotations and proposed conservation statuses. Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Report, 2004(12): 47 pp.
Schuster, G.A., C.A. Taylor, and J. Johansen. 2008. An annotated checklist and preliminary designation of drainage distributions of the crayfishes of Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist, 7(3): 493-504.
Simmons, J.W. and S.J. Fraley. 2010. Distribution, status, and life-history observations of crayfishes in western North Carolina. Southeastern Naturalist 9 (special issue 3):79-126.
Taylor, C. A., G. A. Schuster, J. E. Cooper, R. J. DiStefano, A. G. Eversole, P. Hamr, H. H. Hobbs III, H. W. Robison, C. E. Skelton, and R. F. Thoma. 2007. A reassessment of the conservation status of crayfishes of the United States and Canada after 10+ years of increased awareness. Fisheries 32(8):371-389.