Oklahoma Cave Crayfish
Cambarus tartarus Hobbs & Cooper, 1972
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Decapoda |
| Family | Cambaridae |
| Genus | Cambarus |
| Species | Cambarus tartarus Hobbs & Cooper, 1972 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Stygobiont
- Realm
- Aquatic
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
- Maximum length
- 30 mm
Distribution
Type locality
Stansberry-January cave system, Delaware Co, OK
Range
Known from one county in Oklahoma in the Ozarks karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Oklahoma
Counties
- Oklahoma
- Delaware
Karst regions
Ozarks
Genetics
Molecular resources
| Marker | Molecule | Sequences | Length | Exemplar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COI | mitochondrial | 8 | 514-620 bp | MN984913.1 |
| 16S | mitochondrial | 1 | 443-443 bp | JX514540.1 |
| 28S | nuclear | 1 | 783-783 bp | JX514675.1 |
10 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.
Download all 10 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.
Specimens
Type material
- Holotype
- USNM 131951 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
- Allotype
- USNM 131411 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
- Paratype
- USNM 132754 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution | 11 |
11 cataloged lots in 1 collection. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.
Download all 11 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
CR Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)
Assessed in 2010.
NatureServe
G1 Critically Imperiled
Global rank last reviewed 17 May 2010.
Subnational ranks
- Oklahoma
- S1 Critically Imperiled
Ranks looked up 23 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Threats
- Pollution -Sewage or Urban Wastewater
- Pollution - Agricultural & Forestry
Other resources
References
- Breinholt, J.W., Porter, M.L. & Crandall, K.A. 2012. Testing phylogenetic hypotheses of the subgenera of the freshwater crayfish genus Cambarus (Decapoda: Cambaridae). PLoS One 7(9): e46105. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046105
- Fenolio, D.B. 2011. 2011 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 6 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B. 2012. 2012 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 3 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B. 2014. 2014 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 21 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B. 2016. 2016 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 11 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B. 2017. 2017 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 15 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B., Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E. & Carter, E.T. 2017. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2017 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 17 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B., Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E. & Carter, E.T. 2018. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2018 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 25 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E. & Niemiller, M.L. 2023b. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2023 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 24 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E. & Niemiller, M.L. 2023a. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2022 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 24 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E., Niemiller, M.L. & Richard, K. 2024. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2024 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 17 pp.
- Hobbs & H.H. Jr. 1989. An illustrated checklist of the American crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidae, Cambaridae, and Parastacidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 480: 1–236. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.480
- Hobbs, H.H. Jr., Hobbs, H.H. III & Daniel, M.A. 1977. A review of the troglobitic decapod crustaceans of the Americas. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 244: 1–183.
- Stern, D.B., Breinholt, J., Pedraza-Lara, C., Lopez-Mejia, M., Owen, C.L., Bracken-Grissom, H., Fetzner, J.W., Jr. & Crandall, K.A. 2017. Phylogenetic evidence from freshwater crayfishes that cave adaptation is not an evolutionary dead-end. Evolution 71(10): 2522–2532. doi:10.1111/evo.13326
This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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