Procambarus morrisi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

View Printer Friendly

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	ARTHROPODA	CRUSTACEA	DECAPODA	CAMBARIDAE

Scientific Name:

Procambarus morrisi

Species Authority:

Hobbs & Franz, 1991

Common Name/s:

English

–

Putnam County Cave Crayfish

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) ver 3.1

Year Published:

2010

Assessor/s:

Crandall, K.A. & Cordeiro, J.

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:
Procambarus morrisi has been assessed as Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)+B2ab(iii). This species is known from a single cave and has an extent of occurrence of less than 100 km² and an area of occupancy of less than 10 km² (the diameter of the cave is 0.308 km²). It is experiencing a continual decline in quality of habitat from garbage dumping and recreational activities. Site area protection is urgently needed to prevent further degradation of suitable habitat.

History:

1996	–	Critically Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
1996	–	Critically Endangered

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is found in Devil's Sink Cave in Putnam County, Florida (Hobbs and Franz 1991).
Countries:	Native: United States (Florida)
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is known from 15 specimens, one collection of seven and a second of eight individuals (K. Crandall pers. comm. 2009).
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is found in subterranean pools with large amounts of detritus (Hobbs and Franz 1991). The water depth varies between 31.7 m and 37.1 m with a water temperature of 22^oC (K. Crandall pers. comm. 2009).
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is threatened by public access and recreational activities. The interior of the cave was described by Hobbs and Franz (1991) as being severely degraded by SCUBA divers on the eastern and southern sides. In the shaft area a Volkswagen car has been dumped (Hobbs and Franz 1991). In a recent dive by Tom Morris (1995), the silt cone from eroding sandstone around the pit to the sink, had grown to nearly cut off the entrance to the cave.

Major Threat(s):

This species is threatened by public access and recreational activities. The interior of the cave was described by Hobbs and Franz (1991) as being severely degraded by SCUBA divers on the eastern and southern sides. In the shaft area a Volkswagen car has been dumped (Hobbs and Franz 1991). In a recent dive by Tom Morris (1995), the silt cone from eroding sandstone around the pit to the sink, had grown to nearly cut off the entrance to the cave.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species has been given a NatureServe Global Heritage Status Rank of G1, and has been assigned an American Fisheries Society Status of 'endangered' based on its restricted range and ongoing habitat degradation (Taylor et al. 2007, NatureServe 2009). Site area protection is urgently needed with restricted access to the cave.

Conservation Actions:

This species has been given a NatureServe Global Heritage Status Rank of G1, and has been assigned an American Fisheries Society Status of 'endangered' based on its restricted range and ongoing habitat degradation (Taylor et al. 2007, NatureServe 2009). Site area protection is urgently needed with restricted access to the cave.

Bibliography [top]

	Hobbs, H.H.Jr and Franz, R. 1991. A New Troglobitic Crayfish Procambarus (Lonnbergius) morrisi, (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from Florida. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 104(1): 55-63. IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.3). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 2 September 2010). NatureServe. 2009. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. Internet Taylor, C. A., Schuster, G.A., Cooper, J.E., DiStefano, R.J., Eversole, A.G., Hobbs III, H.H., Robison, H.W., Skelton, C.W. and Thoma, R.F. 2007. Conservation Status of Crayfish Species. Fisheries 32(8): 371-381.

Hobbs, H.H.Jr and Franz, R. 1991. A New Troglobitic Crayfish Procambarus (Lonnbergius) morrisi, (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from Florida. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 104(1): 55-63.

IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.3). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 2 September 2010).

NatureServe. 2009. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. Internet

Taylor, C. A., Schuster, G.A., Cooper, J.E., DiStefano, R.J., Eversole, A.G., Hobbs III, H.H., Robison, H.W., Skelton, C.W. and Thoma, R.F. 2007. Conservation Status of Crayfish Species. Fisheries 32(8): 371-381.

Citation:	Crandall, K.A. & Cordeiro, J. 2010. Procambarus morrisi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided