Procambarus acutus Girard 1852
Creators: name: Morehouse, Reid L.
name: Tobler, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Decapoda
Cambaridae
Procambarus
Procambarus acutus

description: Procambarus acutus (Girard, 1852): White River Crawfish
General charateristics. Adults rarely exceed 140 mm in total length. The carapace is laterally compressed with small tubercles along the sides giving it a granular texture, and the areola is open. The rostrum is moderately excavated and the acumen is short and separated from the rostrum by spines or tubercles. Chelae are slender and densely covered with tubercles. In form I males, gonopods have four short processes, three of which are strongly curved laterally to the midline. The gonopods do not have a prominent shoulder. In females, the fossa of the annulus ventralis is located to the right of body midline and partially covered by the largest of three tubercles present (Taylor & Schuster, 2004).
Life coloration. The background color can range from a deep burgundy red to a light brown. The abdomen exhibits a broad, black, wedge shaped stripe running longitudinally (Figure 73). Tubercles along the body and the chelae are light tan in color. The ventral side is light tan to white.
Similar species. In Oklahoma, P. acutus closely resembles P. clarkii. These species can be distinguished by the shape of gonopods in form I males, as P. clarkii has a shoulder on the cephalic surface and P. acutus lacks a shoulder. Additionally, the areola in P. clarkii is closed and open in P. acutus.
Distribution and habitat. Procambarus acutus has a large, disjunct distribution including large portions of eastern United States from Maine to Georgia, along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Mexico, northward through the Mississippi Valley and along the southern Great Lakes from Minnesota to Ohio (Hobbs, 1989). In Oklahoma, P. acutus is found statewide. Our ecological niche model confirms the known distribution of P. acutus throughout the state, indicating that the entire state except for the panhandle provides suitable environmental conditions (Figure 74). Procambarus acutus is very adaptable and can be found in creeks, marshes, swamps, wetlands, wet depressional areas, and roadside ditches. This species will burrow to escape drying conditions and is a secondary burrower.
Life history. Form I and II males and ovigerous females or females with young have been found year round (Pflieger, 1996; Taylor & Schuster, 2004; Turner, 1926). In Oklahoma, we have collected form I males and females with young on warm days in February. The number of young attached the female ranged from 26 to 72. Form II males and females are present throughout the year. Based on the known collections, it is likely that P. acutus reproduces mainly in the fall and winter.
Syntopic species. Cambarus ludovicianus, Orconectes nais, Orconectes virilis, Procambarus clarkii, Procambarus gracilis, and Procambarus simulans.
Conservation status. AFS: Currently Stable; Heritage Rank: Widespread (G5); IUCN: Least Concern; ODWC: Not Listed.
Additional resources. Eversole & Mazlum (2002); Mazlum (2005, 2007); Mazlum et al. (2007); Mazlum & Eversole (2005); Simon et al. (2005).
description: Published as part of Morehouse, Reid L. & Tobler, Michael, 2013, Crayfishes (Decapoda: Cambaridae) of Oklahoma: identification, distributions, and natural history, pp. 101-157 in Zootaxa 3717 (2) on page 135, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3717.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/248539