A team of researchers headed by West Liberty University biology instructor Zachary Loughman has reported the discovery of a new species of crayfish.
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington journal. Loughman’s co-authors were West Virginia University wildlife and fisheries professor Stuart Welsh and Thomas Simon, senior research scientist at Indiana State University and Loughman’s graduate advisor. In addition, Welsh produced drawings of the new species’ anatomy for the scholarly article.
Loughman and Welsh have been working together for several years on a project funded by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’ Natural Heritage Program to track the occurrence and status of crayfish throughout the state.
“Since 2007, our task has been to hit every major watershed in the state to conduct crayfish surveys,” Loughman explained. “Stuart and I have gone into the field to capture specimens. We examine them in the lab, comparing them to previously-described species.
“In the summer of 2008, two WLU students – Matthew McKinney and Nicole Garrison – and I collected 100 specimens of crayfish from across the Greenbrier River system. We brought them back to the lab, took measurements and tried to put them into an already-described species, but found they didn’t fit. There were multiple different characteristics from the species they were thought to be, Cambarus (Puncticambarus) robustus, or the Big Water crayfish.”
The new species, Cambarus (Puncticambarus) similax, has been named the Greenbrier crayfish. It appears to be found only in West Virginia, while the Big Water crayfish is found in several states in the eastern part of the United States.
“This crayfish is a unique part of West Virginia’s biodiversity,” Loughman said.
While there are over 20 described species of crayfish in the state, he estimated there are two to five species yet to be identified.
Loughman added that WLU’s involvement in the study of crayfish is unique, as the university houses the only laboratory in the country dedicated to astacology, or the study of fresh water crustaceans.