Faxonius maletae | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Family: | Cambaridae |
Genus: | Faxonius |
Species: | F. maletae
|
Binomial name | |
Faxonius maletae | |
Synonyms [3] | |
Faxonius maletae, [4] sometimes called the Kisatchie painted crayfish or Kisatchie painted crawfish, [5] is a species of crawdad in the Cambaridae family. The specific epithet maletae is in honor of the discoverer's wife, author Maleta M. Walls, who helped collect many of the original specimens. [3] It was originally described as a subspecies of Orconectes difficilis, [3] but later elevated to full species status. [6] The common name refers to the Kisatchie National Forest, near where the original specimens were found in Bayou Santabarb . [3]
Kisatchie painted crawfish are brown or olive with red, blue, and white to yellow markings. [5] The red is mainly on the central joints of the pereiopods, the postorbital ridges, and a little on the posterior margins of the uropods (tail fins) and abdominal segments. [5] The fingers of the long, stout chelae (claws) are in order from tip to base, red, yellow/cream, blue, and greenish brown/brown. [5]
Its cephalothorax is about 40 millimetres (1.6 in) long, [5] to a maximum of 4.4 centimetres (1.7 in). [6] The rostrum (beak) is acuminate and has lateral spines. [5] It has a closed areola (the hourglass shaped lines on the back). [5]
It is very similar to Faxonius difficilis but has a central projection that is longer and more curved, with a more smoothly curved expanded mesial process. [3] [6] It can be distinguished from F. palmeri by its shorter gonopods [6] (which may reach the third coxa) and a shorter and stouter central projection. [3] It is fairly indistinguishable from F. hathawayi blacki except that form I (breeding) males have an apex of their first pleopod (swimming leg) that is slender, long, and curved. [5] They only have simple copulatory hooks on their third legs. [6] It is also unique among members of its clade for having a structure like a sulcus caused by a single cephalomedian ( anterior) prominence. [7]
Form I males are found in low-water conditions between June and October, peaking in September–October. [6] Males have mating plugs in October. [6] Kisatchie painted crawfish reproduce with the male depositing sperm into an external receptacle under the female's abdomen. [5] She then fertilizes her eggs as she excretes them. [5] Both eggs and hatchlings remain with the mother, held under her body by her pleopods until they are big enough to swim and crawl without assistance. [5] June and July are when juveniles are most commonly found. [6]
F. maletae prefers clear flowing streams with sandy bottoms and plenty of plant litter and rocks. [1] Occasionally it found in reed beds. [1]
It eats carrion and plants. [5]
The Kisatchie painted crayfish has a very restricted and fragmented range. [1] It has been found in Rapides, [2] Natchitoches, [8] and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana; [5] [6] Upshur, [3] Titus, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, and Marion Counties, Texas; [8] Pittsburg and Latimer Counties, Oklahoma; and Washington County, Arkansas. [1] By river, it is found in Bayou Teche, Kisatchie Bayou, [5] tributaries of the Red River of the South, [6] and in Cypress Creek. [1] There is also evidence of it interbreeding with F. difficilis in Coal County, Oklahoma. [3] Some consider the observations in Louisiana to be of F. hathawayi [1] or F. h. blacki [2] and not F. maletae.
Phylogenetic study of the Texas populations indicate they are distinct genetically, perhaps even a separate cryptic species. [8] The populations also inhabited separate ecological niches, which may further drive speciation. [8]
Kisatchie painted crayfish are susceptible to increased sediment in the water, particularly related to agricultural runoff and logging. [1] The loss of shade from their practices also negatively impacts the animal. [5] Habitat destruction is specifically a concern in Louisiana, [9] where local extinction has happened. [1] With this and the disjointed range of the species, [9] the population is in decline. [1] [8]
In 1996 the species was listed by the IUCN Red List as being vulnerable, but as of 2010 it is listed as data deficient. [1] NatureServe rated the species as G2 (imperiled) in 2009. [2] The American Fisheries Society rated it "Threatened" in 2007. [9]
F. maletae was formerly in the Hespericambarus subgenus of Orconectes, originally described by Joseph F. Fitzpatrick Jr. [7] The name derives from the Latin hesperius ( literally 'western') and cambarus [7] (lit. ' shrimp'). Members of Hespericambarus included: [7]
However, following the re-classification to Faxonius, no subgenera now exist in the new genus as they were considered not to be monophyletic. [4]
Faxonius maletae | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Family: | Cambaridae |
Genus: | Faxonius |
Species: | F. maletae
|
Binomial name | |
Faxonius maletae | |
Synonyms [3] | |
Faxonius maletae, [4] sometimes called the Kisatchie painted crayfish or Kisatchie painted crawfish, [5] is a species of crawdad in the Cambaridae family. The specific epithet maletae is in honor of the discoverer's wife, author Maleta M. Walls, who helped collect many of the original specimens. [3] It was originally described as a subspecies of Orconectes difficilis, [3] but later elevated to full species status. [6] The common name refers to the Kisatchie National Forest, near where the original specimens were found in Bayou Santabarb . [3]
Kisatchie painted crawfish are brown or olive with red, blue, and white to yellow markings. [5] The red is mainly on the central joints of the pereiopods, the postorbital ridges, and a little on the posterior margins of the uropods (tail fins) and abdominal segments. [5] The fingers of the long, stout chelae (claws) are in order from tip to base, red, yellow/cream, blue, and greenish brown/brown. [5]
Its cephalothorax is about 40 millimetres (1.6 in) long, [5] to a maximum of 4.4 centimetres (1.7 in). [6] The rostrum (beak) is acuminate and has lateral spines. [5] It has a closed areola (the hourglass shaped lines on the back). [5]
It is very similar to Faxonius difficilis but has a central projection that is longer and more curved, with a more smoothly curved expanded mesial process. [3] [6] It can be distinguished from F. palmeri by its shorter gonopods [6] (which may reach the third coxa) and a shorter and stouter central projection. [3] It is fairly indistinguishable from F. hathawayi blacki except that form I (breeding) males have an apex of their first pleopod (swimming leg) that is slender, long, and curved. [5] They only have simple copulatory hooks on their third legs. [6] It is also unique among members of its clade for having a structure like a sulcus caused by a single cephalomedian ( anterior) prominence. [7]
Form I males are found in low-water conditions between June and October, peaking in September–October. [6] Males have mating plugs in October. [6] Kisatchie painted crawfish reproduce with the male depositing sperm into an external receptacle under the female's abdomen. [5] She then fertilizes her eggs as she excretes them. [5] Both eggs and hatchlings remain with the mother, held under her body by her pleopods until they are big enough to swim and crawl without assistance. [5] June and July are when juveniles are most commonly found. [6]
F. maletae prefers clear flowing streams with sandy bottoms and plenty of plant litter and rocks. [1] Occasionally it found in reed beds. [1]
It eats carrion and plants. [5]
The Kisatchie painted crayfish has a very restricted and fragmented range. [1] It has been found in Rapides, [2] Natchitoches, [8] and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana; [5] [6] Upshur, [3] Titus, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, and Marion Counties, Texas; [8] Pittsburg and Latimer Counties, Oklahoma; and Washington County, Arkansas. [1] By river, it is found in Bayou Teche, Kisatchie Bayou, [5] tributaries of the Red River of the South, [6] and in Cypress Creek. [1] There is also evidence of it interbreeding with F. difficilis in Coal County, Oklahoma. [3] Some consider the observations in Louisiana to be of F. hathawayi [1] or F. h. blacki [2] and not F. maletae.
Phylogenetic study of the Texas populations indicate they are distinct genetically, perhaps even a separate cryptic species. [8] The populations also inhabited separate ecological niches, which may further drive speciation. [8]
Kisatchie painted crayfish are susceptible to increased sediment in the water, particularly related to agricultural runoff and logging. [1] The loss of shade from their practices also negatively impacts the animal. [5] Habitat destruction is specifically a concern in Louisiana, [9] where local extinction has happened. [1] With this and the disjointed range of the species, [9] the population is in decline. [1] [8]
In 1996 the species was listed by the IUCN Red List as being vulnerable, but as of 2010 it is listed as data deficient. [1] NatureServe rated the species as G2 (imperiled) in 2009. [2] The American Fisheries Society rated it "Threatened" in 2007. [9]
F. maletae was formerly in the Hespericambarus subgenus of Orconectes, originally described by Joseph F. Fitzpatrick Jr. [7] The name derives from the Latin hesperius ( literally 'western') and cambarus [7] (lit. ' shrimp'). Members of Hespericambarus included: [7]
However, following the re-classification to Faxonius, no subgenera now exist in the new genus as they were considered not to be monophyletic. [4]