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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaCrustaceaMalacostracaDecapodaCambaridaeCambarus

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 body length
30 mm

Distribution

Type locality

Stansberry-January cave system, Delaware Co, OK

Range

Known from Oklahoma in the Ozarks karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Oklahoma

Counties

County-level records have not been compiled for this taxon. Distribution is recorded at state and karst-region level.

Karst regions

Ozarks

Genetics

Molecular resources

MarkerMoleculeSequences LengthExemplar
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

InstitutionLots
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)

EXEWCR▲ENVUNTLC

Assessed in 2010.

NatureServe

G1 Critically Imperiled

G1▲G2G3G4G5

Global rank last reviewed 17 May 2010.

Subnational ranks

Oklahoma
S1 Critically Imperiled

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Threats

  • Pollution -Sewage or Urban Wastewater
  • Pollution - Agricultural & Forestry

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
7RV5M
GBIF
2227402
ITIS
97410
iNaturalist
96617
NCBI Taxonomy
1240935

How to cite this account

Cambarus tartarus Hobbs & Cooper, 1972. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1170. https://cavebiology.org/species/cambarus-tartarus/ (accessed 3 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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