Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Orconectes

Orconectes is a genus of cave dwelling freshwater crayfish, endemic to suitable habitats in the eastern United States. Surface dwelling species, formerly categorised here, were moved to Faxonius in 2017.

Last revised
Jul 10, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
406 w
Citations
5
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Orconectes
Unidentified Orconectes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Cambaridae
Genus: Orconectes
Cope, 1872
Type species
Orconectes inermis
Cope, 1872

Orconectes is a genus of cave dwelling freshwater crayfish, endemic to suitable habitats in the eastern United States. Surface dwelling species, formerly categorised here, were moved to Faxonius in 2017.1

Due to their subterranean habitat, they are usually depigmented, often blind, and are long-lived. Ages of 176 years have been claimed for O. australis, though this was reduced to ≤22 years in a 2012 study.2

Taxonomy

The genus Orconectes was erected in 1872 by Edward Drinker Cope to house Astacus pellucidus (now Orconectes pellucidus) and his new species, Orconectes inermis.3

Prior to the 2017 review by Oxford university, the genus contained 85 species in 11 subgenera. The Faxonius subgenus was raised to a full genus, and the majority of species formerly recorded as Orconectes were moved there.1 Following the review, approximately 8 species are known:4

O. pellucidus (Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA) source ↗
Scientific name Authority Common name Red List status Type locality
O. australis (Rhoades, 1941) southern cave crayfish LC Shelta Cavern, Madison County, Alabama
O. barri Buhay & Crandall, 2008 Cumberland Plateau cave crayfish DD Tonya's Cave, Wayne County, Kentucky
O. incomptus Hobbs & Barr, 1972 Tennessee cave crayfish VU Cherry Cave, Jackson County, Tennessee
O. inermis inermis Cope, 1872 ghost crayfish LC Wyandotte Caves, Crawford County, Indiana
O. inermis testii (Hay, 1891) unarmed crayfish LC Mayfield's Cave, Monroe County, Indiana
O. packardi Rhoades, 1944 Appalachian cave crayfish EN Cumberland Crystal Cave, Pulaski County, Kentucky
O. pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844) Mammoth Cave crayfish LC Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
O. sheltae Cooper & Cooper, 1997 Shelta cave crayfish CR Shelta Cave, Madison County, Alabama
O. stygocaneyi Hobbs, 2001 Caney Mountain cave crayfish LC Mud Cave, Caney Mountain Conservation Area, Ozark County, Missouri
References

References

  1. Keith A Crandall; Sammy De Grave. "An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list". The Crayfish and Lobster Taxonomy Browser. Oxford University Press.
  2. Michael P. Venarsky (2012). "Re-examining extreme longevity of the cave crayfish Orconectes australis using new mark–recapture data: a lesson on the limitations of iterative size-at-age models". Freshwater Biology. 57 (7): 1471–1481. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02812.x.
  3. Keith A. Crandall; James W. Fetzner, Jr.; Horton H. Hobbs, Jr. (2001). "Orconectes Cope, 1872". Tree of Life Web Project.
  4. De Grave, Sammy (2021). "Orconectes Cope, 1872". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
External links