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DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES AND DESCRIPTION
The Red Swamp Crayfish is a
very distinctive crayfish. Most
notably, they are red, dark on the
top and light on the bottom, but
definitely red. Another
distinguishing feature are the
tubercles ("bumps") all over the
carapace. These make the
carapace look and feel like coarse
sandpaper.
The two sides of the aureola in the
Red Swamp Crayfish touch each other.
The rostrum of the Red Swamp
Crayfish is triangular with a wide
base tapering to a fairly blunt tip with
a terminal spine. It has a deeply
dished center with strong ridges on
both sides. There is no median carina.
One of the key
identification
characters of many
crayfishes is the
shape of the first
pleopod of a Form I
male. The
terminal elements
of the first pleopod
of the Red Swamp
Crayfish have been described as "four
short, bladelike terminal processes"
188
.
This may be accurate; if you have
enough magnification. To the naked
eye, the end appears rounded with a
notch in the middle.
The annulus ventralis of the female is
pictured here.
The chelae or
claws of the Red
Swamp Crayfish
are long and
narrow with long
skinny fingers.
The specimen
photographed here had red tubercles
on a dark red-black background. The
undersides are a uniform red.
