Procambarus liberorum

{{Short description|Species of crayfish}}

{{speciesbox

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Schuster, G.A. |author2=Taylor, C.A. |date=2010 |title=Procambarus liberorum |volume=2010 |page=e.T153986A4572715 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T153986A4572715.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}

| taxon=Procambarus liberorum

| authority=Fitzpatrick, 1978

| synonyms = Procambarus ferrugineus
Hobbs & Robison, 1988

}}

Procambarus liberorum is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States, where it occurs in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It is known commonly as the Osage burrowing crayfish.

Distribution

In Arkansas, P. liberorum is found in the Boston Mountains, Ouachita Mountains, and Arkansas Valley, as far east as Lonoke County. It was discovered in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, in 2006.{{cite journal |author=Henry W. Robinson |author2=Chris T. McAllister |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=First record of the Osage burrowing crayfish, Procambarus liberorum Fitzpatrick (Decapoda: Cambaridae), in Oklahoma |journal=Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science |volume=86 |pages=87–88 |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/oas/oas_pdf/v86/p87_88.pdf }}

Taxonomic history

Procambarus liberorum was originally described from three specimens caught by a cat in Bentonville, Arkansas.{{Cite book |author=Henry W. Robison |author2=Robert T. Allen |name-list-style=amp |year=1995 |title=Only in Arkansas: a study of the endemic plants and animals of the state |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |isbn=978-1-55728-326-9 |chapter=Procambarus liberorum Fitzpatrick 1978:533 |pages=59 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLdM3P_AdDEC&pg=PA59}}

The species Procambarus ferrugineus was considered to be an endangered species on the IUCN Red List, but it is now known to be identical to the widespread and secure P. liberorum,{{cite journal |author-link1=Keith A. Crandall|author1=Keith A. Crandall |author2=Henry W. Robison |author3=Jennifer E. Buhay |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Avoidance of extinction through nonexistence: the use of museum specimens and molecular genetics to determine the taxonomic status of an endangered freshwater crayfish |journal=Conservation Genetics |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=177–189 |doi=10.1007/s10592-008-9546-9|s2cid=40302302 }} which is listed as a least-concern species.

References

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