Orconectes rafinesquei (Crayfishes and Shrimp of the Green River, KY)

Orconectes rafinesquei

Diagnostic description ¹

Pigmented, eyes normal, rostral margins slightly converging and ending in small spines, distinctly acuminate, acarinate; chela with 1-2 rows of subsquamous tubercles along mesial margin of palm, palm somewhat inflated; male with hook only on 3rd pereipod, coxa of 4th lacking boss; male 1st pleopod with 2 comparatively short subparallel subequal elements, lacking cephalic shoulder.

Distribution ²

Global Range: (250-20,000 square km (about 100-8000 square miles)) Known from the lower Green River drainage in a three-to-four county area of west-central Kentucky.

Habitat and ecology ³

Habitat and Ecology

This species is found under rocks or debris in streams, although if there is no cover available it may make shallow burrows in muddy substrate (Rhoades 1944).

Systems

Freshwater

Iucn red list assessment ⁴

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2010

Assessor/s

Adams, S., Schuster, G.A. & Taylor, C.A.

Reviewer/s

Collen, B. & Richman, N.

Contributor/s

Livingston, F., Livingston, F., Soulsby, A.-M., Batchelor, A., Dyer, E., Whitton, F., Milligan, H.T., Smith, J., Lutz, M.L., De Silva, R., McGuinness, S., Kasthala, G., Jopling, B., Sullivan, K. & Cryer, G.

Justification

Orconectes rafinesquei has been given a status of Least Concern (LC). Itis a relatively narrow ranged species with an EOO of 7,580 km². Currently, this specieshas no known major threats, however it is present in the Rough River Lake which is under intensive fishing pressure.Monitoring of the presence of invasive species establishment in Rough River Lake is recommended.

Nature serve conservation status ⁵

Rounded Global Status Rank: G3 - Vulnerable

Reasons: Restricted range that is fragmented by a large reservoir but there are less than 100 occurrences. Currently, it has no known major threats, however it is present in the Rough River Lake which is under intensive fishing pressure.

Intrinsic Vulnerability: Not intrinsically vulnerable

Environmental Specificity: Unknown

Range description ⁶

This species is endemic to the State of Kentucky, USA. Within the state the species has a limited distribution in the lower Ohio and Green River drainages. It occurs throughout the Rough River drainage and sporadically in Green River tributaries downstream of the mud river in Muhlenberg County. It also occurs in some Ohio River tributaries from Breckinridge to Henderson Countries (Taylor & Schuster 2004).The Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of this species has been estimated at just under 7,600 km²

Sources and Credits

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28859289
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28859284
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34615528
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34615525
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28859277
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34615526

More Info

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