ABSTRACT
The subterranean waters of the Missouri Ozarks in the United States harbor two reported blind crayfish species: the Bristly Cave Crayfish, Cambarus setosus (Faxon and Garman 1889), and the Salem Cave Crayfish, C. hubrichti (Hobbs 1952). During surveys of phreatic (underwater) karst conduits and caves in the Salem Plateau region of Missouri by the Ozarks Cave Diving Alliance, blind Cambarus individuals were found that were not morphologically consistent with either reported species. Morphologically, our material was referable to the Prickly Cave Crayfish, C. hamulatus (Cope and Packard 1881), from Alabama and Tennessee. Qualitative and quantitative characteristics, both morphological and genetic, established them as a new morphotype of C. hubrichti. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses indicated that collected specimens cluster with C. hubrichti with 100% bootstrap support. This morphological variation demonstrates the need for molecular verification of morphological diagnoses in crayfish species, particularly those taxa in need of conservation. Incorrect determinations may artificially inflate or reduce distribution and threat assessment datasets and affect conservation management decisions. In addition, we present habitat, feeding pathways, and distributional observations data, which suggest that this morphotype is highly dependent on heterotrophic or chemoautotrophic microbial communities.
