Benton County Cave Crayfish
Benton County Cave Crayfish
Seasonal Restriction Dates:
- N/A
Restriction Notes:
- N/A
Photo Credit: USFWS
Short Description from Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation:
The Benton County Cave Crayfish (Cambarus aculabrum) reaches about 48 millimeters (1.8 inches) in length. It is distinguished from its closest troglobitic relatives by an acute or subacute apex of the anteromedian lobe of the epistorne. First form males - those with fully formed and hardened first pleopods, or reproductive appendages - are further separated from closely-related troglobitic species, the bristly cave crayfish and Oklahoma cave crayfish, by the absence of a transverse groove which separates the proximolateral lobe from the shaft on the first pleopod. It differs from first form males of another closely related cave species, the Hell Creek cave crayfish, by a longer central projection of the first pleopod which also has a shallow subapical notch as reported by H.H. Hobbs and A.V. Brown in 1987.
Natural Habitat:
Groundwater streams within Ozark cave systems. Not currently known in Oklahoma.
