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Devil crayfish, Cambarus diogenes
This map shows that the Devil crayfish,
Cambarus diogenes, is widespread in the
central and eastern U.S. In contrast with
the previous species, only the northern
half of its range would have been affected
by the ice during the Pleistocene. It also
shows what other authors have suggested;
that the glacial refugia for this species was
in the southern portion of the Mississippi
River basin.
The map above shows the collection
locations for the Devil crayfish in
Nebraska. This is a burrowing species and
are difficult to find so this may not fully
represent their range here. Comparing the
two maps above, it would seem that they
prefer the glaciated areas. It also looks like
they have followed the Missouri River
upstream into Nebraska. Beyond that it is
difficult to get a good picture of their path
into the state as there is not enough
information.
