Faxonius limosus

{{Short description|Species of crayfish}} {{Speciesbox | name = Spinycheek crayfish | image = Kamberkrebs spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus male.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Adams, S.|author2= Schuster, G.A. |author3= Taylor, C.A. | name-list-style = amp |title=''Orconectes limosus'' |year= 2010 |article-number=e.T153764A4541724 | doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T153764A4541724.en|access-date=11 November 2022}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NatureServe>{{cite web|title=''Faxonius limosus'' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.112939/Faxonius_limosus |website=NatureServe Explorer An online encyclopedia of life |version=7.1|publisher=NatureServe|access-date=11 November 2022}}</ref> | genus = Faxonius | species = limosus | authority = (Rafinesque, 1817) | synonyms = *''Astacus limosus'' Rafinesque, 1817 *''Astacus affinis'' Say, 1817 *''Cambarus affinis'' (Say, 1817) *''Cambarus pealei'' Girard, 1852 *''Orconectes limosus'' (Rafinesque, 1817) | synonyms_ref = <ref name=CranDeGr17/><ref>{{GBIF |id=8909595 |taxon=Faxonius limosus |accessdate=2022-03-23}}</ref> }}

'''''Faxonius limosus''''', synonym '''''Orconectes limosus''''',<ref name=CranDeGr17>{{Cite journal |first1=Keith A |last1=Crandall |author-link=Keith A. Crandall |first2=Sammy |last2=De Grave |date=2017 |title=''An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list'' |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=615–653 |doi=10.1093/jcbiol/rux070|doi-access=free }}</ref> is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is native to the east coast of North America, from Quebec<ref name=NatureServe/> to the lower James River, Virginia, but has also been introduced to Europe.<ref name=iucn/> It is known commonly as the '''spinycheek crayfish'''<ref name=iucn/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/NewAstacidea/species.asp?g=Orconectes&s=limosus&ssp= |work=Crayfish Taxon Browser |title=''Orconectes'' (''Faxonius'') ''limosus'' (Rafinesque, 1817) |author=James W. Fetzner Jr. |date=December 6, 2006 |publisher=Carnegie Museum of Natural History |access-date=August 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015907/http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/NewAstacidea/species.asp?g=Orconectes&s=limosus&ssp= |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> or {{lang|de|Kamberkrebs}} in German.

It is unusual in that it lives in silty streams, rather than the clear water usually preferred by crayfish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://personal.denison.edu/~stocker/limosuswv.html |title=''Orconectes'' (''Faxonius'') ''limosus'' (Rafinesque, 1817) |author=Whitney Stocker |access-date=August 29, 2007 }}</ref> Like ''Pacifastacus leniusculus'', another invasive North American crayfish, ''F. limosus'' carries crayfish plague and is a threat to native European crayfish.<ref name="Holdich">{{cite journal |author1=David Holdich |author2=John Black |name-list-style=amp |title=The spiny-cheek crayfish, ''Orconectes limosus'' (Rafinesque, 1817) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Cambaridae), digs into the UK |year=2007 |journal=Aquatic Invasions |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.3391/ai.2007.2.1.1 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bonelli|first1=Marco|last2=Manenti|first2=Raoul|last3=Scaccini|first3=Davide|date=2017|title=Mountain protected areas as refuges for threatened freshwater species: the detrimental effect of the direct introduction of alien species|url=https://hw.oeaw.ac.at/?arp=0x00369c6d|journal=Eco.mont (Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research)|language=en|volume=9|issue=2|pages=23–29|doi=10.1553/eco.mont-9-2s23|issn=2073-106X|doi-access=free|hdl=11577/3315607|hdl-access=free}}</ref> However, ''P. leniusculus'' displays more aggressive behavior than ''F. limosus,'' and has been far more pervasive as an invasive threat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hudina |first=Sandra |last2=Hock |first2=Karlo |date=September 2012 |title=Behavioural determinants of agonistic success in invasive crayfish |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0376635712001350 |journal=Behavioural Processes |language=en |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=77–81 |doi=10.1016/j.beproc.2012.05.011|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

thumb|right|Size comparison with a human hand thumb|right|A mating pair, male on top and female below

''F. limosus'' was introduced to Germany in 1890, and has since spread across much of Northern Europe, recently reaching the United Kingdom.<ref name="Holdich"/> It has also spread southwards as far as the Danube in Serbia.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A report of ''Orconectes'' (''Faxonius'') ''limosus'' (Rafinesque, 1817) (Crustacea: Deacpoda: Astacidea: Cambaridae: ''Orconectes'': subgenus ''Faxonius'') in the Serbian part of the River Danube |author1=S. Pavlović |author2=S. Milošević |author3=S. Borković |author4=V. Simić |author5=M. Paunović |author6=R. Žikić |author7=Z. Saičić |journal=Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment |volume=20 |year=2006 |issue=1 |pages=53–56 |doi=10.1080/13102818.2006.10817304 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In Europe, ''F. limosus'' has been included since 2016 on the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).<ref>{{Cite web|title=List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern - Environment - European Commission|url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/invasivealien/list/index_en.htm|access-date=2021-07-27|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref> This instructs that this species must not be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.<ref>{{Cite web|title=REGULATION (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European parliament and of the council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1143&from=EN}}</ref>

''Faxonius limosus'' can reproduce sexually or by parthenogenesis.<ref name="Buřič">{{cite journal |author1=M Buřič |author2=M Hulák |author3=A Kouba |author4=A Petrusek |author5=P Kozák |year=2011 |title=A successful crayfish invader is capable of facultative parthenogenesis: a novel reproductive mode in decapod crustaceans |journal=PLoS ONE |volume=6 |issue=5 |article-number=e20281 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0020281 |pmid=21655282 |pmc=3105005|bibcode=2011PLoSO...620281B |doi-access=free }}</ref> Lobsters and crayfish are decapods, meaning that they have 10 legs. Two of them are claws. These crayfish live on the bottom of the freshwater pools, such as lakes, ponds and swamps. They prefer flat, sandy, and rocky floors. They are also found outside the water on beaches or lawns near the pool of water. They use rocks to make burrows while in the water. This is a very common species of crayfish, especially in the Northeast United States and Southeast Canada.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

==See also== *Crayfish as food

==References== {{Reflist|32em}}

Category:Cambaridae Category:Freshwater crustaceans of North America Category:Crustaceans described in 1817 Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Category:Edible crustaceans Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN