Search Results - Field Guide

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 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.

Crayfish are freshwater aquatic invertebrates that look a lot like small lobsters, to which they are related. There are about 38 species of crayfish in Missouri.

The calico crayfish is rather plain: gray-green with a pale central zone along the middle of the carapace and abdomen. The pincers are orange-tipped, and in mature males are tinged with purple. It is usually only found in the northern half of the state.

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 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.

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 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.

The coldwater crayfish has a very localized distribution in the Eleven Point River system. It is stout, with a blue-green head and pincers and dark, rust-brown carapace. It is an imperiled species.

The powerfully built devil crayfish is usually a uniform olive or tan, without obvious blotches or spots. It digs underground burrows, often with mud chimneys, and has a wide distribution.