Skip to content

Cave Biology Data Portal

Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe

  • ExploreExpand
    • Species
    • Taxonomy
    • States and Provinces
    • Karst Regions
    • Caves You Can Visit
  • ResourcesExpand
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Meeting and Events
    • Public Notices
    • News and Updates
  • ContributeExpand
    • Report an Observation
    • Add a Photograph or Image
    • Post an Event
    • Post an Opportunity
    • Add a Reference
    • Add a New Species
    • Report a Correction
  • AboutExpand
    • Acknowledgments
    • Data Sensitivity Policy
    • Citation and Licensing
  • ContactExpand
    • Data Requests
Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaCrustaceaMalacostracaDecapodaCambaridaeOrconectes

Mammoth Cave Crayfish
Orconectes pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Malacostraca
Order Decapoda
Family Cambaridae
Genus Orconectes
Species Orconectes pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844)

Synonyms

Astacus pellucidus Tellkampf, 1844
Cambarus typhlobius Joseph, 1880
Cambarus pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844)
Cambarus coecus Joseph, 1881
Cambarus stygius Joseph, 1882

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygobiont
Realm
Aquatic
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Mammoth Cave, Edmonson Co. KY

Range

Known from two states in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Kentucky, Tennessee

Counties

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

Karst regions

Interior Low Plateau

Genetics

Molecular resources

MarkerMoleculeSequences LengthExemplar
16S mitochondrial 1 485-485 bp EU433914.1
COI mitochondrial 1 1473-1473 bp AY701203.1

2 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.

Download all 2 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.

Specimens

Type material

Holotype
1564 · Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin
Topotype
24420 · North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 48
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 29
Field Museum of Natural History 11
American Museum of Natural History 10
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences 9
Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin 8
and 12 other collections 24

139 cataloged lots in 18 collections. 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 139 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

EXEWCRENVUNTLC▲

Assessed in 2010.

NatureServe

G4 Apparently Secure

G1G2G3G4▲G5

Global rank last reviewed 1 July 2009.

Subnational ranks

Kentucky
S3 Vulnerable
Tennessee
S3 Vulnerable

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Threats

  • Pollution -Sewage or Urban Wastewater
  • Pollution - Commercial/Industrial

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
7W5ZB
GBIF
2227093
ITIS
97469
iNaturalist
776146
NCBI Taxonomy
306152

How to cite this account

Orconectes pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1179. https://cavebiology.org/species/orconectes-pellucidus/ (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.

Explore

  • Browse
  • Taxonomy

Resources

  • Funding
  • Employment
  • Contribute

About this site

  • About Us
  • Acknowledgments
  • Contact Us
  • Data Sensitivity Policy
  • Citation and Licensing
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Explore
    • Species
    • Taxonomy
    • States and Provinces
    • Karst Regions
    • Caves You Can Visit
  • Resources
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Meeting and Events
    • Public Notices
    • News and Updates
  • Contribute
    • Report an Observation
    • Add a Photograph or Image
    • Post an Event
    • Post an Opportunity
    • Add a Reference
    • Add a New Species
    • Report a Correction
  • About
    • Acknowledgments
    • Data Sensitivity Policy
    • Citation and Licensing
  • Contact
    • Data Requests