Deceitful Crayfish

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax (Hagen)

Cambarus fallax Hagen, 1870:34, 97, 101, 107, pl. I: figs. 103–105.—Faxon, 1884:136; 1885a:8, 17, 19, 23–24, 29, 157, 167, 173, pl. II: fig. 4; 1885b:357; 1890:621; 1898:644; 1914:368, 413.—Underwood, 1886:369.—Lönnberg, 1894:125; 1895:3, 10, 11; 1898:350.—Hay, 1899b:959, 964.—Ortmann, 1902:277.—Harris, 1903a:58, 70, 97, 143, 152, 166.—Hobbs, 1937:154; 1942b:8, 9; 1962:273.—Carr, 1940:92.—Goodnight, 1941:70, 72, 73.—Kilby, 1945:84.

Cambarus Fallax.—Hagen, 1870:45–46 [lapsus calami],—Hobbs, 1972a:2.

Cambarus (Cambarus) fallax.—Ortmann, 1905a:102, 105.

Cambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax.—Fowler, 1912:341 [by implication].—Creaser, 1934:4 [by implication].

Procambarus fallax.—Hobbs, 1942a:342 [by implication]; 1942b:15, 18, 20, 21, 31, 45, 70, 71, 83, 93, 106, 109–118*, 123, 124, 128, 145, 152, 153, figs. 116–120; 1943a:52, 55, figs. 2, 5; 1959:889*; 1962:285*, fig. 40; 1968b:K–9*, fig. 25o; 1969a:118.—Hoff, 1944:340, 349.—Needham, 1949: 453.—Dickinson, 1949:23.—Penn, 1950b:647, 649; 1954: 296.—Crocker, 1957:71.—Hart, 1959:204.—Hoffman, 1963:368.—Hobbs III, 1969:41.—Holt, 1973b:88, 90, 93.—Hart and Hart, 1974:128, 131.—Franz, 1977a:91–93*.—Huner and Avault, 1977:21.

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax.—Hobbs, 1972a:9; 1972b: 64*, 150*, figs, 27e, 49h; 1974b:55*, fig. 235.—Hobbs, Hobbs, and Daniel, 1977:148.

Procambaris fallax.—Wharton, 1978:46* [erroneous spelling].

These citations include all references to the species that I have encountered in the literature. Those pages marked by asterisks note its occurrence in Georgia.

SUMMARY OF LITERATURE.—This species was described by Hagen (1870) on the basis of specimens that had been collected in an unknown locality in Florida by Dr. H. Bryant (see Faxon, 1885a:24). Not until 15 years later were specific localities in the state recorded (Faxon, 1885a:24). Other localities in Florida were added by Faxon (1890, 1898, 1914) and Lönnberg (1895). The first remarks on the habitats of this crayfish were made by the latter (p. 3) as follows: “They lived in creeks, small lakes and ponds, very often hiding in the rich vegetation there or under logs, boards and so on. Sometimes I found them digging holes on the shore, at low water, and then those holes often went down to such a depth that the water came up into them.” In these statements, Lönnberg was referring to both P. (O.) fallax and P. (Leconticambarus) alleni (Faxon, 1884:110). In summarizing its habitat distribution in the vicinity of Gainesville, Florida, Hobbs (1937) stated that it is “peculiar to ponds and lakes but is often found in habitats occupied by members of other species.” The most complete account of the species, including geographical, ecological, and life history data, as well as remarks on its relationships, is that of Hobbs (1942b), who also recorded its presence in Echols County, Georgia (p. 112). In 1962 (p. 285), he stated that the species ranges “from the Suwannee and St Mary [sic] drainages (Ga.) south to DeSoto, Highlands, and Palm Beach counties, Florida,” and in 1972 (b:64) noted a range extension: “Lotic and lentic habitats from the Satilla River drainage, Georgia, southward through peninsular Florida.” Carr (1940), Penn (1950b), and Franz (1977a) reported that this crayfish is preyed upon by the striped swamp snake Regina alleni, the former two using the combination Liodytes alleni. Franz's account of the feeding behavior of rotating the crayfish so it can be devoured tail-first is noteworthy. Kilby (1945) found that the frog Rana pipiens sphenocephala also feeds upon this crayfish. The role of P. (O.) fallax as a host to several entocytherid ostracods was recorded by Hoff (1944), Hart (1959), and Hobbs III (1969), and to branchiobdellid worms by Goodnight (1941), Hoffman (1963), and Holt (1973b). The remaining citations include references to previous work or contain statements or discussions of relationships and proposed taxonomic changes. The bases for the latter are discussed in the introductory section of this study.

DIAGNOSIS.—Rostrum almost always with marginal spines, sometimes latter reduced to tubercles and rarely to angles at base of acumen; median carina absent. Carapace with 1 pair of cervical spines (rarely with 2 on either or both sides). Areola 5.5 to 8.8 times as long as broad and constituting 27.5 to 33.7 (average 30.7) percent of entire length of carapace (39.4 to 45.8, average 42.9, percent of postorbital carapace length). Antennal peduncle with spine on ischium. Lateral half of ventral surface of ischium of third maxilliped lacking conspicuous mat of long plumose setae. Basis of cheliped without mesial spine. Mesial surface of palm of chela of male with mesialmost row of 8 to 14 tubercles. Male with hooks on ischia of third and fourth pereiopods; that on fourth in first form male bituberculate, not overreaching basioischial articulation, and opposed by prominent tubercle on corresponding basis. First pleopods asymmetrical and reaching coxae of third pereiopods; distal fourth or fifth of shaft gently inclined caudally; cephalic surface of neither member of pair with distinct shoulder; subapical setae flanking lateral, cephalic, and mesial sides of cephalic process and central projection, largely obscuring both terminal elements; mesial process rather long, bladelike, directed distolaterally, and surpassing other terminal elements distally; cephalic process slender, basally hooding and extending caudodistally subparallel to central projection, apex not reaching so far caudally as that of latter; central projection corneous, elongate, compressed, directed caudodistally, but largely adnate with distomedian surface of shaft and only acute tip free; caudal element vestigial, forming corneous ridge along lateral side of central projection, well-defined process and caudal knob lacking. Female with sternum cephalic to annulus ventralis lacking projections or tubercles; annulus ventralis subcampanulate in outline, with ventrally elevated cephalic region bisected by narrow trough leading caudally into median depression or to declivity bearing tilted S-shaped (often reversed) sinus; postannular sclerite little narrower than annulus; first pleopod present.

COLOR NOTES (Figure 136c).—Carapace basically dark brown dorsally, fading to pinkish tan ventrally on branchiostegites, with light cream tan median longitudinal stripe extending from rostrum to caudal margin; cephalolateral area with oblique red stripe, flanked dorsally and ventrally by narrow cream lines, extending from antennal region along ventral hepatic area, and small cream spot immediately dorsal to cervical spine. Branchiostegites with paired longitudinal black stripe laterally, extending from cervical groove to caudal ridge and paired black spots caudodorsally, spots joined by black transverse band on caudal ridge. Abdomen with median, longitudinal broad brown stripe, flanked laterally by series of dark, obliquely oriented splotches situated anteriorly on first through fifth terga; pleura of second through sixth segments delimited basally by ventrally convex black marks, these together forming scalloped line. Prominent, irregular cream patches situated on each tergum between row of oblique splotches and scalloped line; pleura reddish tan mottled with cream, and with white spot abutting scallops anteroventrally. Telson olive tan with brown markings and with pair of oblique cream spots ringed in dark brown anteriorly; lateral quarters darker than median half; caudal section with narrow cream to white median longitudinal line. Uropod similarly olive tan with brown mottlings, and ridges and lateral margins of rami dark brown. Antennular and antennal peduncles olive mottled with brown; flagella dark olive; antennal scale olive to cream, with brown lateral margin and stripe along mesial margin of thickened lateral area. Third maxilliped pale olive, fading proximally to cream. Cheliped olive to brown, mottled with dark brown from distal two-thirds of merus distally to corneous tips of fingers, tubercles and fingers very dark; ventral surface paler. Ventral surface of body cream.

TYPES.—Syntypes, MCZ 3526 (I, II), BSNH (II, ), USNM 63294 (II, ).

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Florida. Restricted to Saint Johns River at Welaka, Putnam County, Florida, by Hobbs (1974b:55).

RANGE.—Tributaries of the Satilla and Suwannee rivers in Georgia, southward through most of peninsular Florida. In Georgia, it is confined to the Satilla, Saint Marys, and Suwannee basins in the following districts of the Coastal Plain Province: Tifton Upland, Bacon Terraces, Okefenokee Basin, and Barrier Island Sequence.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—I have examined a total of 2923 specimens, of which 2752 were from Florida and 171 from the following localities in Georgia. Atkinson County: (1) 2 mi W of Pearson, 1, 18 Apr 1947, H. W. Fowler, collector. Brantley County: (2) Buffalo Creek 6 airmi SW of Nahunta on unnumbered rd, 1II, 20 Apr 1974, C. R. Gilbert. Charlton County: (3) Saint Marys River 16 mi S of Folkston on St Rte 23, 1I, 4II, 4, 1j, 27 Mar 1940, E. C. Raney; 3II, 3 Sep 1962, ECR; (4) 23.3 mi S of Folkston, 1II, 27 Mar 1940, ECR; (5) 9 mi N of Saint George on St Rte 23, 4I, 3II, 6, 2j, 3j, 18 Apr 1963, P. C. Holt, V. F. Holt; (6) Green Branch 8.5 airmi S of Saint George on Co Rd, 1I, 1, 21 Jul 1975, J. Germann; (7) Tiger Branch 12 airmi SW of Saint George, 1II, 1, 3 Oct 1974, JG; (8) Cornhouse Creek 8.3 airmi SSW of Folkston on St Rte 23, 2I, 4II, 1j, 8 Jun 1976, JG; (9) slough of Harris Creek 3.3 mi N of Saint George on St Rte 23, 1 ovig , 21 Jul 1975, JG. Clinch County: (10) temporary pools 5 mi S of Homerville off US Hwy 441, 3, 4 Nov 1967, J. J. Sullivan; (11) swamp N of Fargo, 1j, 25 May 1941, G. B. Hobbs, HHH; (12) roadside ditch about 12 mi N of I-10 on US Hwy 441 [either the mileage or state and county are incorrect for Interstate Highway 10 is more than 12 miles south of the Georgia line], 9, 4II, 7, 2j, 11j, 26 Jul 1966, W. F. Smith-Vaniz. Coffee County: (13) Seventeen Mile Creek at St Rte 32, 5II, 3, 1j, 13 Sep 1972, R. M. Gaddis, M. W. Walker. Echols County: (14) stream 0.4 mi N of Florida line on US Hwy 441, 4j, 8j, 27 Oct 1938, F. N. Young, Jr., HHH; 2, 8II, 2, 29 Mar 1977, H. K. Wallace, HHH. Lanier County: (15) Lakeland, 1, 2j, 23 Feb 1930, O. C. Van Hyning; 1, 1j, 25 Oct 1946, HWF; (16) Bank Lake 1.5 mi S of Lakeland, 1I, 3, 12 Sep 1929, E. P. Creaser. Lowndes County: (17) ditch 3 to 4 mi S of Valdosta, 1, 1953, B. Fulford; (18) ditch 1.5 mi S of Valdosta on old Clyattsville Rd, 2I, 2II, 4, 4j, 2j, 1953, M. E. Carter; (19) Twin Lakes at town of Twin Lakes on US Hwy 41, 2j, 13 Sep 1929, EPC; 1I, 25 Mar 1959, R. L. Gibbs; (20) Lanier-Lowndes Co line, 3I, 1II, 2, 5 j, 3j, 23 Mar 1961, PCH, VFH; (21) Grand Bay Creek 11 mi E of Valdosta on US Hwy 84, 3II, 2II, 5, 1j, 3j, 4 Nov 1967, JJS.

VARIATIONS.—Variations of a conspicuous nature are rare among the Georgia members of this species. With few exceptions, in specimens in which the marginal spines on the rostrum are reduced to tubercles, there is evidence of abrasion of other spines on the carapace. Most specimens from Charlton County (Saint Marys Basin) possess areolae constituting more than 30.7 percent of the total length of the carapace, reflecting a shorter rostrum resulting from abrasion or earlier injury of the acumen. In addition most members of the species from the Saint Marys watershed also possess areolae that are broader than the average (less than 6.8 times as long as wide) but in occasional ones the areola is as much as 7.8 times as long as broad. A very small proportion of the specimens from Georgia exhibits what I consider to be an atavistic trait in possessing a second well-developed cervical spine, a character that appears typically only in members of the subgenus Pennides and in some Middle American representatives of the subgenus Austrocambarus. Among the secondary sexual characters of the first form male, only the hook on the fourth pereiopod exhibits a noteworthy variation: the terminal tubercle adjacent to the shaft of the ischium is much more strongly developed in some specimens than in others, and in a few it is so poorly defined that the hook may appear not to be bituberculate. The median part of the annulus ventralis exhibits considerable individual variation: in some specimens there exists a distinct submedian depression, while in others there is a gradual sloping (cleft by the anteromedian groove and sinus) from the cephalomedian elevation caudally.

SIZE.—The largest specimen from Georgia is a female that has a carapace length of 34.3 (postorbital carapace length 24.6) mm. Corresponding lengths of the smallest and largest first form males are 15.1 (10.5) mm and 26.9 (20.0) mm. The only female collected in Georgia that was carrying eggs (or young) has corresponding lengths of 20.5 (14.1) mm.

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax (Hagen)

Cambarus fallax Hagen, 1870:45, figs. 103–105.

Cambarus (Cambarus) fallax.—Ortmann, 1905c:102.

Cambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax.—Fowler, 1912:341 [by implication].—Creaser, 1934b:4 [by implication].

Procambarus fallax.—Hobbs, I942a:S42 [by implication]; 1942b:111, figs. 116–120.

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax.—Hobbs, 1972a:9.

TYPES.—Syntypes, MCZ 3526 ( I, II), BSNH (II, ), USNM 63294 ( II, ).

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Florida. Here restricted to St. Johns River at Welaka, Putnam County, Florida.

RANGE.—Tributaries of the Satilla River, Georgia, southward through peninsular Florida.

HABITAT.—Lentic and lotic situations and burrows.

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax (Hagen)

Cambarus fallax Hagen, 1870:45, figs. 103–105.

Cambarus Fallax.—Hagen, 1870:45.

Cambarus (Cambarus) fallax.—Ortmann, 1905c:102.

Cambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax.—Fowler, 1912:341 [by implication].—Creaser, 1934b:4 [by implication].

Procambarus fallax.—Hobbs, 1942a:342 [by implication]; 1942b:111, figs. 116–120.

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) fallax.—Hobbs, 1972a:9; 1974b:55, fig. 235; 1981:416, fig. 14e, 136e, 138e, 156, 164, 248.

Procambaris fallax.—Wharton, 1978:46 [erroneous spelling].

TYPES.—Syntypes, MCZ 3526 (male I, male II); USNM 63294 (male II, female), formerly in the Boston Society of Natural History.

TYPE LOCALITY.—Florida. Restricted by Hobbs (1974b:55) to St. Johns River at Welaka, Putnam County, Florida.

RANGE.—Tributaries of the Satilla River, Georgia, southward through peninsular Florida.

HABITAT.—Lentic and lotic situations and burrows.

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) franzi Hobbs and Lee

Procambarus (Ortmannicus) franzi Hobbs and Lee, 1976:384, fig. 1.—Franz and Lee. 1982:59, figs. 2, 6.

TYPES.—Holotype, allotype, and morphotype, USNM 146992, 146993, 146994; paratypes, USNM.

TYPE LOCALITY.—Orange Lake Cave, 0.4 mile (0.6 km) south of junction of U.S. Highway 441 and State Route 318 off Highway 411 (Sec. 33/34, T. 12S, R. 21E), Marion County, Florida.

RANGE.—Known only from the type locality and Hell Hole (Sec. 6, T. 12S, R. 21E), also in Marion County, Florida.

HABITAT.—Subterranean waters.

Procambarus fallax (also known as deceitful crayfish or slough crayfish) is a species of crayfish in the genus Procambarus. It lives in tributaries of the Satilla River in Georgia and Florida. It is the closest relative to the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish, Procambarus virginalis.

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