Biology:Orconectes maletae
| Orconectes maletae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Family: | Cambaridae |
| Genus: | Faxonius |
| Species: | F. maletae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Faxonius maletae Walls, 1972[3]
| |
| Synonyms[3] | |
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Faxonius maletae, sometimes called the Kisatchie painted crayfish or Kisatchie painted crawfish,[4] is a species of crawdad in the Cambaridae family. The specific epithet maletae is in honor of the discoverer's wife, author Maleta M. Walls, who helped collect many of the original specimens.[3] It was originally described as a subspecies of Orconectes difficilis,[3] but later elevated to full species status.[5] The common name refers to the Kisatchie National Forest, near where the original specimens were found in Bayou Santabarb.[3]
Description
Kisatchie painted crawfish are brown or olive with red, blue, and white to yellow markings.[4] The red is mainly on the central joints of the pereiopods, the postorbital ridges, and a little on the posterior margins of the uropods (tail fins) and abdominal segments.[4] The fingers of the long, stout chelae (claws) are in order from tip to base, red, yellow/cream, blue, and greenish brown/brown.[4]
Its cephalothorax is about 40 millimetres (1.6 in) long,[4] to a maximum of 4.4 centimetres (1.7 in).[5] The rostrum (beak) is acuminate and has lateral spines.[4] It has a closed areola (the hourglass shaped lines on the back).[4]
It is very similar to Faxonius difficilis but has a central projection that is longer and more curved, with a more smoothly curved expanded mesial process.[3][5] It can be distinguished from F. palmeri by its shorter gonopods[5] (which may reach the third coxa) and a shorter and stouter central projection.[3] It is fairly indistinguishable from F. h. blacki except that form I (breeding) males have an apex of their first pleopod (swimming leg) that is slender, long, and curved.[4] They only have simple copulatory hooks on their third legs.[5] It is also unique among members of its clade for having a structure like a sulcus caused by a single cephalomedian (anterior) prominence.[6]
Behaviour
Form I males are found in low-water conditions between June and October, peaking in September–October.[5] Males have mating plugs in October.[5] Kisatchie painted crawfish reproduce with the male depositing sperm into an external receptacle under the female's abdomen.[4] She then fertilizes her eggs as she excretes them.[4] Both eggs and hatchlings remain with the mother, held under her body by her pleopods until they are big enough to swim and crawl without assistance.[4] June and July are when juveniles are most commonly found.[5]
Habitat and ecology
F. maletae prefers clear flowing streams with sandy bottoms and plenty of plant litter and rocks.[1] Occasionally it found in reed beds.[1]
It eats carrion and plants.[4]
Distribution
The Kisatchie painted crayfish has a very restricted and fragmented range.[1] It has been found in Rapides,[2] Natchitoches,[7] and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana;[4][5] Upshur,[3] Titus, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, and Marion Counties, Texas ;[7] Pittsburg and Latimer Counties, Oklahoma; and Washington County, Arkansas.[1] By river, it is found in Bayou Teche, Kisatchie Bayou,[4] tributaries of the Red River of the South,[5] and in Cypress Creek.[1] There is also evidence of it interbreeding with F. difficiis in Coal County, Oklahoma.[3] Some consider the observations in Louisiana to be of F. hathawayi[1] or F. h. blacki[2] and not F. maletae.
Phylogenetic study of the Texas populations indicate they are distinct genetically, perhaps even a separate cryptic species.[7] The populations also inhabited separate ecological niches, which may further drive speciation.[7]
Threats
Kisatchie painted crayfish are susceptible to increased sediment in the water, particularly related to agricultural runoff and logging.[1] The loss of shade from their practices also negatively impacts the animal.[4] Habitat destruction is specifically a concern in Louisiana,[8] where local extinction has happened.[1] With this and the disjointed range of the species,[8] the population is in decline.[1][7]
In 1996 the species was listed by the IUCN Red List as being vulnerable, but as of 2010 it is listed as data deficient.[1] NatureServe rated the species as G2 (imperiled) in 2009.[2] The American Fisheries Society rated it "Threatened" in 2007.[8]
Taxonomy
F. maletae was formerly in the Hespericambarus subgenus of Orconectes, originally described by Joseph F. Fitzpatrick Jr..[6] The name derives from the Latin hesperius (literally 'western') and cambarus[6] (lit. 'shrimp'). Members of Hespericambarus include:[6]
- Hathawayi group
- F. perfectus
- F. hathawayi
- F. h. blacki
- Difficilis group
- F. maletae
- F. difficilis
However, following the re-classification to Faxonius, no subgenera now exist in the new genus as they were considered not to be monophyletic.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 "Orconectes maletae" (in English). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. 2017. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T15433A4584468.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15433/4584468. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Orconectes maletae" (in English). Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. November 2016. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?sourceTemplate=tabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&selectedReport=RptComprehensive.wmt&summaryView=tabular_report.wmt&elKey=119673&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=119673&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&post_processes=&radiobutton=radiobutton&selectedIndexes=119673. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Walls, Jerry G. (29 February 1972). "Three New Crawfishes Related to Orconectes difficilis (Faxon) (Decapoda: Astacidae)" (in English) (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 84 (53): 449–458. ISSN 1943-6327. http://www.nativefishlab.net/library/textpdf/14852.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 "Rare Animals of Louisiana Kisatchie painted crawfish" (in English) (PDF). Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/fact_sheet_animal/32164-Orconectes%20maletae/orconectes_maletae.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Walls, Jerry G. (April 2009) (in English) (PDF). Crawfishes of Louisiana. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press. pp. 131–132. ISBN 9780807134092. OCLC 255142426. https://books.google.com/?id=JAG2Aut6yKcC&pg=PA119&dq=9780807134092#v=onepage&q=maletae&f=false. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Fitzpatrick, Jr., Joseph F. (25 February 1987). Kensley, Brian. ed. "The Subgenera of the Crawfish Genus Orconectes (Decapoda: Cambaridae)" (in English) (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 100 (1): 44–74. ISSN 0006-324X. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34570454. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Brown, Larrimy Beth (7 April 2017). "Phylogenetic and ecological analysis of two populations of the Kitsatchie Painted Crayfish, Faxonius maletae (Decapoda: Cambaridae)" (in English). Biology Theses Paper 44: 1–63. OCLC 1003859602.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Taylor, Christopher A.; Schuster, Guenter A.; Cooper, John E.; DiStefano, Robert J.; Eversole, Arnold G.; Hamr, Premek; Hobbs III, Horton H.; Robison, Henry W. et al. (August 2007). "A Reassessment of the Conservation Status of Crayfishes of the United States and Canada after 10+ Years of Increased Awareness" (in English). Fisheries 32 (8): 372–389. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(2007)32[372:AROTCS2.0.CO;2]. ISSN 1548-8446. OCLC 4902547044.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q6594402 entry
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