Field Guide

The woodland crayfish is stout, reddish tan to dark brown, with numerous blackish specks and blotches on the pincers, carapace, and abdomen. It occurs only in Missouri, especially in the Black River and its tributaries.

The Ozark crayfish is light brown to reddish brown with numerous black specks on the pincers and often on the abdomen as well. The pincers are broad and powerful. It lives in the White and Black stream systems.

The grassland crayfish is rather uniformly colored either bright red or reddish and has broad, powerful pincers. It inhabits prairies and grasslands from Wisconsin and Indiana to Texas, including grasslands in northern and western Missouri.

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.

Adult vernal crayfish are rusty red with a blackish wedge-shaped central stripe along the length of the abdomen. In Missouri, this species occurs only in our southeastern swamps and is usually only seen in February and March.

The virile crayfish is large, reddish brown or green, and lacks prominent markings. The pincers are green with orange tips and are studded with whitish knobs. Paired dark blotches run along the abdomen. This species is widespread.

Hubbs' crayfish is powerfully built, olive tan or reddish brown, with a narrow blackish band where the carapace and abdomen join. It has a limited range within the Ozarks of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

The spothanded crayfish is moderately large and usually has a noticeable black spot on each pincer near the base of the movable finger. In Missouri, it is found mostly in Ozark waterways in the southeastern quarter of the state, from Callaway, Montgomery, and Warren counties south.