Cambarus asperimanus Faxon 1914

Cambarus (Jugicambarus) asperimanus Faxon

Cambarus bartonii asperimanus Faxon, 1914:391.

Cambarus (Cambarus) bartoni asperimanus.—Ortmann, 1931: 137.

Cambarus asperimanus.—Brimley, 1938:503.

Cambarus (Jugicambarus) asperimanus.—Hobbs, 1969b:107, figs. 1d, 9, 13d, 14d, 18o.

TYPES.—Syntypes, USNM 47375 (2 I).

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Flat Creek, Montreat, Buncombe County, North Carolina.

RANGE.—Headwaters of the French Broad, Little Tennessee, Catawba, Broad, Savannah, and Saluda rivers in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

HABITAT.—Small mountain streams.

Cambarus (Jugicambarus) asperimanus Faxon

Cambarus bartonii asperimanus Faxon, 1914:391, 424.—Hobbs and Shoup, 1947:142.—Hobbs, 1953c:20; 1969a:107; 1974a:16*.

Cambarus (Cambarus) bartoni asperimanus.—Ortmann, 1931:107, 136–138.

Cambarus asperimanus.—Brimley, 1938:503.—Hobbs, 1953c:20, 24, 27; 1959:897; 1966a:115; 1968b:K-14*, fig. 32e; 1976, fig. 1f.—Crawford, 1961:241; 1965:150.—Hobbs and Hobbs, 1962:41, 45.—Hobbs and Hart, 1966:51.—Hobbs and Walton, 1968:250.—Prins, 1968:458.—Bouchard, 1972:31, 49, 106.—Schuster, 1973:7–9.—Hart and Hart, 1974:44, 61, 101, 102.

Cambarus (Jugicambarus) asperimanus.—Hobbs, 1969a:107, 108, 139*, 142*, 143*, 144, figs. 1d, 13d, 14d, 18o; 1972b:125, 145*, figs. 89e, i, 109d; 1974b:16*, fig. 57.—Bouchard, 1972:45, 47.

The above represents a complete bibliography of the species; although no specific Georgia records are included, references to the state are noted by asterisks.

DIAGNOSIS.—Body pigmented. Eyes small but well developed. Rostrum with thickened, converging margins lacking spines or tubercles. Areola 3.7 to 5.5 times as long as wide, comprising 33.3 to 37.7 percent of entire length of carapace (39.1 to 42.3 percent of postorbital carapace length), and bearing 2 to 4 punctations across narrowest part. Cervical spine represented by minute tubercle. Suborbital angle obsolete, cephalolateral margin of carapace broadly rounded. Postorbital ridge terminating cephalically without spine or tubercle. Antennal scale 2.2 to 2.5 times as long as wide, ususally broadest near midlength. Chela with single (usually stongly cristiform) row of 5 or 6 tubercles along mesial surface of palm, lateral margin of palm rounded; both fingers with well-defined longitudinal ridges dorsally, and fingers and distal part of palm provided with conspicuous tufts of long (in recently molted individuals) stiff setae. First pleopod of first form male with long, strongly reflexed central projection, its tip entire and directed caudoproximally, reaching midlength of base of mesial process; mesial process inflated basally and tapering to acute tip directed caudoproximally and somewhat laterally at angle of 90 to 110 degrees to main shaft of appendage and reaching caudally to or beyond tip of central projection. Annulus ventralis asymmetrical with inflated dextral or sinistral wall receiving tongue from less inflated opposite wall; sinus originating beneath inflated wall and forming broad arc ending on caudal surface near median line. First pleopod present in female.

COLOR NOTES (Figure 70a).—Carapace olive to orange brown with olive-cream mottlings. Rostral margins, postorbital ridges and cephalolateral margins of carapace olive cream; similarly, mandibular adductor regions, paired areas situated immediately caudomesially and abutting cervical groove, branchiocardiac groove, and small flecks on branchiostegites olive cream. Abdominal terga mostly light olive but tergum of first abdominal segment largely brown, and succeeding ones with 2 pairs of oblique dark brown splotches. Pleura with brown markings but margined in cream. Telson and uropods pale olive with dark ribs and transverse suture on lateral ramus of uropods brown. Antennular and antennal peduncles dark olive brown splotched with olive, flagella banded with same colors; antennal scale pale with deep olive lateral margin. Dorsal surface of cheliped dark olive to orange brown from mid-merus distally; larger tubercles and spines white, smaller ones cream; fingers red distally with brown corneous apices. Dorsal surface of remaining pereiopods pale olive proximally and dark olive brown from midlength of merus distally, darkest at extremities of merus and carpus. Ventral surface of pereiopods and sternal area pinkish cream; chelipeds more pink than cream.

TYPES.—Syntypes, USNM 47375 (2I).

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Flat Creek at Montreat, Buncombe County, North Carolina.

RANGE.—Mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, in the headwaters of the French Broad, Little Tennessee, Catawba, Broad, Saluda, and Savannah rivers and in the Watauga Basin in Tennessee. In Georgia known only from the Blue Ridge and upper Piedmont provinces in the Savannah Basin.

GEORGIA SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—I have examined 11 specimens from the following localities. Rabun County: (1) stream near base of Rabun Bald, 2II, 13 May 1953, B. Martof, collector; (2) Tally Mill Creek 0.5 mi S of North Carolina line on St Rte 28, 1II, 1j, 16 Jun 1975, D. J. Peters, J. E. Pugh, HHH; (3) trib to Chattooga River 4.6 mi S of North Carolina line on St Rte 28, 2, 16 Jun 1975, DJP, JEP, HHH; (4) Gold Mine Creek about 9.5 airmi E of Clayton, 2II, 15 May 1954, BM; (5) Big Creek on St Rte 28, 1.6 mi S of North Carolina line, 1 ovig , 26 Apr 1977, JEP, HHH. Stephens County: (6) Toccoa Falls, downstream less than 100 yards, 1I, 17 Jun 1972, DJP, JEP, HHH; (7) Cool Spring picnic area 7 mi NE of Toccoa, 1II, 16 Jul 1958, R. L. Hoffman.

VARIATIONS.—The few specimens from Georgia are remarkably uniform. The only conspicuous difference noted is the comparatively longer areola of the first form male, from Stephens County, that comprises 37.7 percent of the total carapace length (42.3 percent of the postorbital carapace length), whereas in the other localities the corresponding lengths range from 34.3 to 36.0 percent and 39.1 to 41.4 percent.

SIZE.—The largest specimen from Georgia is a second form male having a carapace length of 28.6 (postorbital carapace length 25.4) mm. Corresponding lengths of the only first form male are 27.6 and 24.1 mm; those of the single ovigerous female, 30.5 and 26.7 mm.

Cambarus (Jugicambarus) asperimanus Faxon

Cambarus bartonii asperimanus Faxon, 1914:391.

Cambarus (Cambarus) bartoni asperimanus.—Ortmann, 1931:137.

Cambarus asperimanus.—Brimley, 1938:503.

Cambarus (Jugicambarus) asperimanus.—Hobbs, 1969b:107, figs. 1d, 9, 13d, 14d, 18o; 1974b:16, fig. 57; 1981:189, figs. 24b, 70a, 71, 72, 213.

TYPES.—Syntypes, USNM 47375 (2 male I).

TYPE LOCALITY.—Flat Creek, Montreat, Buncombe County, North Carolina.

RANGE.—Mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, in the headwaters of the French Broad, Little Tennessee, Catawba, Broad, Saluda, and Savannah rivers and in the Watauga Basin in Tennessee.

HABITAT.—Seepage areas and mountain streams.

Cambarus asperimanus, the mitten crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is found in North America.

The IUCN conservation status of Cambarus asperimanus is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The IUCN status was reviewed in 2010.