Field Guide

Unlike their parasitic cousins in the flatworm group, turbellarians, or planarians, are tiny carnivores or detritus-eaters that glide smoothly across submerged leaves and other objects.

The belted crayfish is medium-small, tan, with a distinctive pattern of alternating olive-green and reddish-brown bands on the abdominal segments. It is found only in the Big River and its tributaries.

The saddleback crayfish has a bold blackish band across the hind margin of the carapace and lacks dark blotches or specks. The pincers are broad and powerful. It occurs in the Big and Meramec river drainages.

The ringed crayfish is olive green to reddish tan and usually has black or brown rings around the pincer tips. In Missouri it is found in clear, rocky Ozark streams in the southwestern quarter.

The golden crayfish varies in color from olive green to golden yellow. Many body parts are trimmed with red. A dark band crosses the head just in front of the cervical groove, and another crosses the carapace at its junction with the abdomen. It's a wide-ranging species.

The shield crayfish is small and tan, with a pattern of paired blackish dashes along the surface of the carapace and abdomen. The pincers are narrow, with short, abruptly tapering fingers. In Missouri it occurs only in our southeast counties.

These diminutive mollusks are the smallest of Missouri’s freshwater mussels.

The longpincered crayfish is large and colorful, with very long, slender, blue-green pincers that are studded with prominent yellowish knobs. It is restricted to the White River basin in the Ozarks.