Procambarus is a genus of crayfish in the family Cambaridae, all native to North and Central America. It includes a number of troglobitic species, and the marbled crayfish (marmorkrebs), which is parthenogenetic. Originally described as a subgenus for four species, it now contains around 161 species.

Biogeography

The majority of the diversity is found in the southeastern United States, but the genus extends as far south as Guatemala and Honduras, and on the Caribbean island of Cuba. After United States, the highest diversity is in Mexico with about 45 species. Only two are native to Guatemala (P. pilosimanus and P. williamsoni), one to Belize (P. pilosimanus), one to Honduras (P. williamsoni) and three to Cuba (P. atkinsoni, P. cubensis and P. niveus).

Subgenus Ortmannicus was the most widespread, with the range of Procambarus acutus extending as far north as the Great Lakes and New England, as well as south into northeastern Mexico; the subgenus Girardella also extended from the Great Lakes to Mexico, but was distributed further west than Ortmannicus. Scapulicambarus and Pennides were widespread in the southeastern United States, further west (Texas and Louisiana) than Leconticambarus which was centered on Florida and neighbouring states. The subgenus Austrocambarus had the most southerly distribution, being found in Cuba and parts of Central America from Mexico to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. The other subgenera are more restricted in their distributions, including three endemic to central Mexico, and six endemic to small areas in the United States.

A few species of Procambarus have been introduced to regions outside their native range, both in North America and other continents. They are frequently categorized as invasive species, representing a threat to natives, including rarer crayfish species.

The earliest known fossil member of the genus is Procambarus primaevus, known from the Early Eocene-aged deposits of Fossil Butte in the Green River Formation in Wyoming, USA. This suggests that during the Eocene, Procambarus was found as far west as the Intermountain West of the United States, where it is no longer present today.

Description

Procambarus can be distinguished from other genera of crayfish by the form of the first pleopod in males, which typically has three or more processes at the tip, compared to two or fewer in Faxonius and Cambarus.

Ecology

Most Procambarus species live in various above-ground waters such as rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and swamps, but several are troglobitic, living in caves, particularly in karstic areas. In the United States, these include both species in subgenus Lonnbergius (P. acherontis and P. morrisi). Other cave-dwellers in the United States with various levels of troglomorphic adaptions are P. attiguus, P. erythrops, P. franzi, P. leitheuseri, P. lucifugus, P. milleri and P. orcinus, but these are all members of subgenera that also include species from above-ground waters. In Cuba, P. niveus is a cave-dweller. In Mexico, many species have been recorded in caves, but most of these have also been recorded from above-ground waters; only P. cavernicola, P. oaxacae, P. rodriguezi and P. xilitlae are strict cave-dwellers and troglomorphic. In 2007, troglomorphic specimens of P. clarkii were found in caves in Portugal and Italy.

Taxonomy

Procambarus was originally described by Arnold Edward Ortmann in 1905 as a subgenus of a wider genus Cambarus, and originally contained only four species (P. williamsoni, P. digueti, P. mexicanus and P. cubensis). The subgenus was elevated in 1942 to the taxonomic rank of genus by Horton H. Hobbs Jr., who later erected most of the subgenera formerly recognized within the genus in a 1972 monograph. However, more recently, the subgenera have been eliminated, and while it is recognized that Procambarus is not monophyletic, later literature does not make further taxonomic changes, instead suggesting that more species sampling is required.

Species

Procambarus ablusus Penn, 1963 Procambarus acanthophorus Villalobos, 1948 Procambarus acherontis (Lönnberg, 1894) Procambarus acutissimus (Girard, 1852) Procambarus acutus (Girard, 1852) Procambarus adani Álvarez, Torres & Villalobos, 2021 Procambarus advena (LeConte, 1856) Procambarus albaughi (Johnson, 2018) Procambarus alleni (Faxon, 1884) Procambarus ancylus Hobbs, 1958 †Procambarus angustatus (LeConte, 1856) Procambarus apalachicolae Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus atkinsoni (Ortmann, 1913) Procambarus attiguus Hobbs Jr. & Franz, 1992 Procambarus barbatus (Faxon, 1890) Procambarus barbiger Fitzpatrick, 1978 Procambarus bivittatus Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus blandingii (Harlan, 1830) Procambarus bouvieri (Ortmann, 1909) Procambarus braswelli J. E. Cooper, 1998 Procambarus brazoriensis Albaugh, 1975 Procambarus caballeroi Villalobos, 1944 Procambarus capillatus Hobbs, 1971 Procambarus caritus Hobbs, 1981 Procambarus catemacoensis Rojas, Alvarez & Villalobos, 2000 Procambarus cavernicola Mejía-Ortiz, Hartnoll & Viccon-Pale, 2003 Procambarus ceruleus Fitzpatrick & Wicksten, 1998 Procambarus chacei Hobbs, 1958 Procambarus citlaltepetl Rojas, Alvarez & Villalobos, 1999 Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) Procambarus clemmeri Hobbs, 1975 Procambarus cometes Fitzpatrick, 1978 Procambarus connus Fitzpatrick, 1978 Procambarus contrerasi (Creaser, 1931) Procambarus cubensis (Erichson, 1846) Procambarus cuetzalanae Hobbs, 1982 Procambarus curdi Reimer, 1975 Procambarus delicatus Hobbs & Franz, 1986 Procambarus digueti (Bouvier, 1897) Procambarus dupratzi Penn, 1953 Procambarus echinatus Hobbs, 1956 Procambarus econfinae Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus elegans Hobbs, 1969 Procambarus enoplosternum Hobbs, 1947 Procambarus epicyrtus Hobbs, 1958 Procambarus erichsoni Villalobos, 1950 Procambarus erythrops Relyea & Sutton, 1975 Procambarus escambiensis Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus evermanni (Faxon, 1890) Procambarus fallax (Hagen, 1870) Procambarus fitzpatricki Hobbs, 1972 Procambarus franzi Hobbs & Lee, 1976 Procambarus geminus Hobbs, 1975 Procambarus geodytes Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus gibbus Hobbs, 1969 Procambarus gonopodocristatus Villalobos, 1958 Procambarus gracilis (Bundy, 1876) Procambarus hagenianus (Faxon, 1884) Procambarus hayi (Faxon, 1884) Procambarus hinei (Ortmann, 1905) Procambarus hirsutus Hobbs, 1958 Procambarus hoffmanni (Villalobos, 1944) Procambarus holifieldi (Schuster, Taylor & Adams, 2015) Procambarus horsti Hobbs & Means, 1972 Procambarus hortonhobbsi Villalobos, 1950 Procambarus howellae Hobbs, 1952 Procambarus hubbelli (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus hybus Hobbs & Walton, 1957 Procambarus incilis Pennington, 1962 Procambarus jaculus Hobbs & Walton, 1957 Procambarus kensleyi Hobbs Jr., 1990 Procambarus kilbyi (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus lagniappe Black, 1968 Procambarus latipleurum Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus lecontei (Hagen, 1870) Procambarus leitheuseri Franz & Hobbs, 1983 Procambarus leonensis Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus lepidodactylus Hobbs, 1947 Procambarus lewisi Hobbs & Walton, 1959 Procambarus liberorum Fitzpatrick, 1978 syn. Procambarus ferrugineus Hobbs & Robison, 1988 Procambarus litosternum Hobbs, 1947 Procambarus llamasi Villalobos, 1954 Procambarus lophotus Hobbs & Walton, 1960 Procambarus lucifugus (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus lunzi (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus luxus (Johnson, 2011) Procambarus lylei Fitzpatrick & Hobbs, 1971 Procambarus machardyi Walls, 2006 Procambarus mancus Hobbs & Walton, 1957 Procambarus marthae Hobbs, 1975 Procambarus maya Alvarez, López-Mejía & Villalobos, 2007 Procambarus medialis Hobbs, 1975 Procambarus mexicanus (Erichson, 1846) Procambarus milleri Hobbs, 1971 Procambarus mirandai Villalobos, 1954 Procambarus morrisi Hobbs Jr. & Franz, 1991 Procambarus natchitochae Penn, 1953 Procambarus nechesae Hobbs Jr., 1990 Procambarus nigrocinctus Hobbs Jr., 1990 Procambarus niveus Hobbs & Villalobos, 1964 Procambarus nueces Hobbs Jr. & Hobbs III, 1995 Procambarus oaxacae Hobbs, 1973 Procambarus okaloosae Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus olmecorum Hobbs, 1987 Procambarus orcinus Hobbs & Means, 1972 Procambarus ortmannii Villalobos, 1949 Procambarus ouachitae Penn, 1956 Procambarus paeninsulanus (Faxon, 1914) Procambarus pallidus (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus paradoxus (Ortmann, 1906) Procambarus parasimulans Hobbs & Robison, 1982 Procambarus pearsei (Creaser, 1934) Procambarus penni Hobbs, 1951 Procambarus pentastylus Walls & Black, 2008 Procambarus petersi Hobbs, 1981 Procambarus pictus (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus pilosimanus (Ortmann, 1906) Procambarus planirostris Penn, 1953 Procambarus plumimanus Hobbs & Walton, 1958 Procambarus pogum Fitzpatrick, 1978 Procambarus primaevus (Packard, 1880) Procambarus pubescens (Faxon, 1884) Procambarus pubischelae Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus pubischelae deficiens Hobbs, 1981 Procambarus pycnogonopodus Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus pygmaeus Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus raneyi Hobbs, 1953 Procambarus rathbunae (Hobbs, 1940) Procambarus regalis Hobbs & Robison, 1988 Procambarus regiomontanus Villalobos, 1954 Procambarus reimeri Hobbs, 1979 Procambarus riojai (Villalobos, 1944) Procambarus roberti Villalobos & Hobbs, 1974 Procambarus rodriguezi Hobbs, 1943 Procambarus rogersi (Hobbs, 1938) Procambarus ruthveni Pearse, 1911 Procambarus sbordonii Hobbs, 1977 Procambarus seminolae Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus shermani Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus simulans (Faxon, 1884) Procambarus spiculifer (LeConte, 1856) Procambarus steigmani Hobbs Jr., 1991 Procambarus strenthi Hobbs, 1977 Procambarus suttkusi Hobbs, 1953 Procambarus talpoides Hobbs, 1981 Procambarus texanus Hobbs, 1971 Procambarus teziutlanensis (Villalobos, 1947) Procambarus tlapacoyanensis (Villalobos, 1947) Procambarus toltecae Hobbs, 1943 Procambarus troglodytes (LeConte, 1856) Procambarus truculentus Hobbs, 1954 Procambarus tulanei Penn, 1953 Procambarus vazquezae Villalobos, 1954 (species name often misspelled vasquezae) Procambarus veracruzanus Villalobos, 1954 Procambarus verrucosus Hobbs, 1952 Procambarus versutus (Hagen, 1870) Procambarus viaeviridis (Faxon, 1914) Procambarus villalobosi Hobbs, 1969 Procambarus vioscai Penn, 1946 Procambarus vioscai paynei Fitzpatrick, 1990 Procambarus virginalis (Lyko, 2017) Procambarus williamsoni (Ortmann, 1905) Procambarus xilitlae Hobbs & Grubbs, 1982 Procambarus xochitlanae Hobbs, 1975 Procambarus youngi Hobbs, 1942 Procambarus zapoapensis Villalobos, 1954 Procambarus zihuateutlensis Villalobos, 1950 Procambarus zonangulus Hobbs Jr. & Hobbs III, 1990

Notes

References

External links

Key to the subgenera of Procambarus