Giant Crayfish Discovered in Tennessee

Barbicambarus simmonsi is nearly 5 inches long—almost twice the size of a typical crayfish found in the region. Aquatic biologists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Kentucky University found the unusual new species hiding under rocks in a deep part of the creek. Species of the Barbicambarus genus have uncommon bearded antennae covered with fine bristles that enhance their sensory capacity. The new species is described in a paper in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. Photo Credit: L. Brian Stauffer, University of Illinois

Barbicambarus simmonsi is almost twice the size of a typical crayfish found in the southeastern United States. Researchers got word of a couple of sightings—the first in 2009—and scoured the Shoal Creek. The crayfish’s closest genetic relative can grow to almost lobster-size. A new freshwater species is a refreshing discovery in a region plagued by pollution and development. Because of these pressures, and others, freshwater species around the globe are disappearing at a rate four to six times faster than animals on land or at sea. Photo Credit: L. Brian Stauffer, University of Illinois

The giant new crayfish is part of a genus known for its unusual bearded antennae, called setae, which could help the crayfish find its way around or find food. There are about 600 known species of crayfish in the world, according to the University of Illinois’ Taylor. Tennessee and Alabama are hotspots of crayfish diversity. Photo Credit: L. Brian Stauffer, University of Illinois

The discovery of a new species of giant crayfish under a rock in Tennessee’s Shoal Creek, which has been studied for 50 years, just goes to show that you don’t have to travel to exotic rivers and wetlands in Asia and Africa to find species that are new to science. The southeastern United States is, in fact, a hotbed of aquatic species diversity, with small populations of unique species living among the hundreds, if not thousands, of springs, rapids, pools, rivers, and wetlands that carve through and pockmark the region, especially in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The Southeast is home to the largest array of freshwater mussels on Earth; an abundance of freshwater snails, crayfish, and turtles; and nearly 700 of the approximately 1,000 species and subspecies of U.S. freshwater fish. Photo Credit: Carl Williams

The new crayfish species was found in Shoal Creek, whose waters eventually feed into the Tennessee River, a main artery in the southeastern United States that starts in Tennessee and runs through Alabama and Kentucky before joining the Ohio River. Photo Credit: Guenter Schuster

Researchers set up a seine downstream of an area of interest and then flip rocks and disturb the sediment to se what washes into the net. Here, University of Illinois biologists Chris Taylor and Emily Hartfield seine the Buttahatchee River, Marion County, Alabama. University of Illinois biologists Chris Taylor, who found the new species, and Emily Hartfield look for critters in the Buttahatchee River, Alabama. They turn up rocks and disturb sediment to see what flows into a collection net downstream. Eastern Kentucky University’s Schuster was with Taylor when they discovered Barbicambarus simmonsi in Tennessee. After researchers found the first crayfish, a male, they uncovered a second, this time a female. Photo Credit: Guenter Schuster.