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Cambarus carolinus

(Erichson, 1846)

Red Burrowing Crayfish

G4Apparently Secure Found in 5 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.114437
Element CodeICMAL07380
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassMalacostraca
OrderDecapoda
FamilyCambaridae
GenusCambarus
Concept Reference
Hobbs, H. H., Jr. 1989. An Illustrated Checklist of the American Crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidae, Cambaridae, and Parastacidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 480:1-236.
Conservation Status
Review Date2010-05-17
Change Date1996-02-19
Edition Date2010-05-17
Edition AuthorsCordeiro, J.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Eversole and Jones (2004) include the upper Broad River basin in northern South Carolina westward into North Carolina and Tennessee almost to the Tennessee River. It does not face any major threats.
Range Extent Comments
It is known from the upper Broad River basin in the northern part of South Carolina westward into North Carolina and Tennessee (south of the French Broad River) almost to the Tennessee River (see Dewees, 1972). It also exists in the Little Tennessee River basin (Cooper and Braswell 1998). Hobbs (1989) and Taylor et. al. (1996) both list the range as South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Eversole and Jones (2004) include the upper Broad River basin in northern South Carolina westward into North Carolina and Tennessee almost to the Tennessee River. Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia records assigned to Cambarus dubius, a former subspecies (Hobbs, 1989). Although not yet collected in Georgia, futher collecting effort may reveal occurrences in the extreme northeastern part of the state.
Occurrences Comments
LeGrand et al. (2006) cite the Little Tennessee and Hiwassee drainages in North Carolina. In North Carolina, it is known from 14 localities in the Little Tennessee River basin in Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, and Swain Cos. (Cooper and Braswell, 1995; NCWRC, unpubl. data; Simmons and Fraley, 2010) and a single locality in the Hiwassee River basin in Cherokee County (Cooper et al., 1998)
Threat Impact Comments
There are no known current threats to Cambarus carolinus although as it is dependent on a high water table, activities such as major road construction and ground water abstraction for suburban development would threaten this species (Price 2005)
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Cambarus carolinus is know from bogs close to rocky streams. This species is a primary burrower (Cooper and Braswell 1995). It is known from swampy areas with some flowing water and has a much more restricted habitat than C. latimanus (Hobbs 1983). It also occurs in spring fed small streams along the edge or under rocks (R. Thoma, T. Jones, pers. comm., 2009). While this species was always collected from burrows, the situation and form of burrows varied; with most burrows shallow (<10 cm) in seeps and other damp areas immediately adjacent to small streams (horizontal and just under rocks and decaying logs that lay on the surface, and branched
to multiple surface entrances) but a few burrows located up to 3 m from surface water and were relatively deep with several branches and well developed chimneys (Simmons and Fraley, 2010).
Palustrine Habitats
Bog/fen
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
TennesseeS4Yes
North CarolinaS2Yes
South CarolinaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
4.1 - Roads & railroadsUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
7.2 - Dams & water management/useUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (5)
North Carolina (5)
AreaForestAcres
Big Indian (addition)Nantahala National Forest1,155
Laurel MountainPisgah National Forest5,683
SnowbirdNantahala National Forest8,489
South Mills RiverPisgah National Forest8,588
Tusquitee BaldNantahala National Forest13,670
References (10)
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Eversole, A.G. and D.R. Jones. 2004. Key to the crayfish of South Carolina. Unpublished report. Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina. 43 pp.
  4. Hobbs, H. H., Jr. 1989. An Illustrated Checklist of the American Crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidae, Cambaridae, and Parastacidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 480:1-236.
  5. LeGrand, H.E., Jr., S.P. Hall, S.E. McRae, and J.T. Finnegan. 2006. Natural Heritage Program List of the Rare Animal Species of North Carolina. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh, North Carolina. 104 pp.
  6. 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.
  7. Schwartz, F.J. and W.G. Meredith. 1962. Crayfishes of the Cheat River watershed in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Part II. Observations upon ecological factors relating to distribution. The Ohio Journal of Sciences, 62(5): 260-273.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Taylor, C.A., M.L. Warren, Jr., J.F. Fitzpatrick, Jr., H.H. Hobbs III, R.F. Jezerinac, W.L. Pfleiger, and H.W. Robison. 1996. Conservation status of crayfishes of the United States and Canada. Fisheries 21(4):25-38.