Abstract

The first valid description of a prairie crawfish was of Cambarus (=Procambarus) hagenianus by Faxon in 1884. The type locality was given as “Charleston, South Carolina U.S.A.”, but subsequent collecting and investigations led to the conclusion that the species is in reality confined to the prairie soils of Mississippi and Alabama. This species is the only North American crawfish recorded as a significant pest and crop destroyer, although several other species have been blamed for mechanical undermining and percolation problems as a result of their burrowing habits. Lyle (1936, 1937) studied the prairie populations; he alluded to the existence of several races by the publication of three subspecific nomina nuda (1936), but he published no further information. Studies of Lyle's material and additional collections were undertaken. All of the populations are primary burrowers (sensu Hobbs, 1942b) and generally occupy relatively high land, often quite removed from watercourses. There are five distinct breeding populations (species) and P. hagenianus exists as two geographic races. The species seem to be geographically isolated from one another and are probably distributed on the basis of ecological preferences. Because of changed agricultural practices in the region their economic impact has been markedly reduced.

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