I went to the creek yesterday with a net and a plastic container so I could get better pictures of the little crayfish and identify them. When I saw them on the weekend, I could observe them only “in situ” because I hadn’t a net, and I was doing well to spot them at all, much less get a well-lit closeup of them. Last night I did, and I don’t think they’re dwarfs at all, I think they’re babies. To be specific, baby Orconectes immunis, AKA papershell or calico crayfish, a species common in this area. Since I had more time last night (P was practicing his drive, so I didn’t have to caddy), I poked around the edges of the creek, and found some burrows. I hadn’t seen them before because I’m always in a hurry to catch up to P. They’re much more well-hidden than the ones around the first few holes of the course; these are up under roots, under overhanging spots on the bank, etc., not right out in the open. Also, they cut back the jungle in there, so burrows that had been covered with undergrowth were visible.
From a page on Missouri cray species:
This rather plain, gray-green crayfish is characterized by a pale central zone along the middle of the carapace and abdomen. The pincers are orange-tipped, and in mature males are uniquely tinged with purple. The rostrum is without lateral notches or spines near its tip. Adults are about 1.7 to 3.5 inches in length.
The papershell crayfish occurs widely in the Prairie Region and along the floodplains of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It is almost always found over a mud bottom in turbid waters that fluctuate drastically in area and depth. Typical habitats are shallow sloughs and the isolated pools of prairie creeks. This crayfish retreats to burrows in late summer as the habitats in which it occurs dry up.
That’s a reasonably accurate description of the environment there (there’s sand and gravel, but some mud, too), it’s a common species I would expect to find in this area, and the pattern looks right compared to the adults in the pictures I “borrowed” from someone’s site (heh). I might just have to get a fishing license so I can collect a few. I could probably sneak some out anyway because I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone “official” there except for the cops cruising through once in a while, but may as well do it legally. I’d hate, though, to bring some home and find that they did not adapt well to life in captivity. I think they’re adorable and I’d love to have at least one as a pet, but I don’t want to kill the little guys over my own selfishness. Hmmm.
One of the little dudes I caught last night:
“Liberated” image of adult O. immunis, red-tipped pincers clearly visible, pattern somewhat visible:
Another adult, pattern more easily visible:
