Cambarus bartonii
Appalachian brook crayfish
(Also: crayfish)

Cambarus bartonii can be found in the eastern and southern parts of the United States as well as the southeastern part of Canada. They are most often found, however, in the range from New Brunswick, Canada to northern Georgia and in eastern parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. (Green, 1967)

Cambarus bartonii dwell on the bottoms of streams, creeks, and small rivers and lakes. They construct burrows, sometimes called "chimneys". Their burrows can be simple hollows under stone or more intricate, with lateral passageways. Chimneys are found along the water's edge. Most of the structure is under water, but the top sticks out and resembles a chimney. Chimneys vary in size, the largest opening being about eight centimeters. (McMan, 1960)

Cambarus bartonii is a freshwater crustacean. On first inspection it looks rather "lobster-like". It has a sharp snout, and its eyes are on movable stalks. The thin, but tough exoskeleton is dark brown in color - sometimes with a slightly red tint. The exact shade depends on what the bottom substrate of the habitat looks like.

In terms of appendages, the most noticeable ones are its chelipeds. These appendages are attached to the thorax and are also referred to as the first walking legs. However, these appendages have claws and are used for protection and catching food, not walking. Cambarus bartonii also has four other pairs of walking legs attached to the thorax. The abdominal appendages of Cambarus bartonii are called swimmerets or pleopods, and they are much smaller than walking legs and not suitable for swimming. The male swimmerets are modified to transfer sperm packets to the female during reproduction and have a spatulate shape. What looks like a fan on the end of the abdomen is really many broad flat appendages called uropods. All of these appendages are attached on the ventral side of Cambarus bartonii, and they are all biramous. In general, the abdomen is large and usually extended; it can however, be flexed under the cephalothorax. The first abdominal segment is usually smaller than those posterior to it.

Cambarus bartonii has an open circulatory system. It possesses a diamond-shaped heart which lies just anterior to the abdominal segments on the dorsal midline. The heart is surrounded by a thin pericardial sac. Just anterior to the heart lie the gonads. The testes are white, and the ovaries orange. Along the dorsal midline of the cephalothorax lie the cardiac stomach and the pyloric stomach. Just posterior and laterally to the stomachs lies a large digestive gland. The ventral nerve cord lies beneath the internal organs, and the brain lies between and beneath the eyestalks. (Russel-Hunter, 1979; Vodopich and Moore, 1999)

Cambarus bartonii walk slowly on the bottom of ponds, creeks or streams when searching for food. If threatened, they can shoot backwards to quickly escape danger. They accomplish this rapid backward motion by contracting powerful abdominal muscles. Cambarus bartonii use their chelipeds for protection and for finding food. Predators on C. bartonii include various bird and turtle species. Cambarus bartonii is most active at night because this is when it feeds. (Buchsbaum et al., 1987)

Cambarus bartonii is a predator and a scavenger. It feeds on decaying organic remains but also catches small animals. Its main sources of food include snails, alga, insect larva, various types of worms, and tadpoles. It finds its food on the bottom of the water source it inhabits or in the soil near the water. (Banister and Campbell, 1985)

There are no known adverse effects of Cambarus bartonii on humans.

Crayfish are a huge industry for many countries, especially France and the United States. Each year between 400,000 - 800,000 Kg are consumed (880,000 to 1,960,000 lbs). There are also 2.6 million pounds of crayfish reared in artificial impoundments each year. This creates many jobs for people in the fishing industry.

Crayfish are good to eat and provide a source of protein. They are now eaten throughout the United States and many countries around the world.

The crayfish may have medicinal benefits as well. In Kenya, a microscopic blood fluke. a schistome, is causing infection in many people. The schistome burrows through skin and moves to the bladder and other major organs, causing much damage. Scientists have found that the schistome larva hatch in freshwater snails. They have also found that the crayfish has an appetite for these freshwater snails. Putting many crayfish (although it does not say which exact species would be used; most species have an appetite for snails) in these lakes may reduce the snail population, and in turn reduce the number of infections.

Cambarus bartonii digs in the soil along streams, ponds, and rivers. It helps with agriculture because the digging causes the soil to become richer in nutrients. In many rice farms, crayfish are the second crop because farmers bring them in after the rice has been harvested to help the soil gain many nutrients. The farmers then harvest the crayfish when it is rice season again. This is not a species specific benefit, because there are many rice farms around the world.

Crayfish are also used to monitor the environmental condition of streams and rivers. Specifically, one can analyze them for the presence of particular pollutants in their tissues. ("World Book Encyclopedia", 1998; Banister and Campbell, 1985)

This species is not known to be endangered.