Marmorkrebs
| Marbled crayfish | |
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| Adult marmorkrebs | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Family: | Cambaridae |
| Genus: | Procambarus |
| Species: | P. fallax |
| Form: | P. f. f. virginalis |
| Trinomial name | |
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Procambarus fallax f. virginalis Martin et al., 2010 |
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| European countries where the Marmorkrebs has been found in the wild. It occurs also in Madagascar and Japan. | |
| Synonyms | |
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Procambarus virginalis |
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Procambarus virginalis
The marbled crayfish, also known as Marmorkrebs, is a parthenogenetic crayfish that was discovered in the pet trade in Germany in the 1990s.Procambarus fallax forma virginalis is an informal subspecies designation for marbled crayfish, and some researchers have proposed a new species designation, Procambarus virginalis. Marmorkrebs are closely related to the "slough crayfish", Procambarus fallax.P. fallax is widely distributed across Florida, but no natural populations of marbled crayfish are known. Information provided by one of the original pet traders as to where the marbled crayfish originated was deemed "totally confusing and unreliable".Marmorkrebs is German for "marbled crayfish".
Marbled crayfish are the only known decapod crustaceans to reproduce only by parthenogenesis. All individuals are female, and the offspring are genetically identical to the parent. Marbled crayfish are triploid animals, which may be the main reason for their parthenogenetic reproduction. Marbled crayfish are thus a model for the rapid generation of species.
Because marbled crayfish are genetically identical, easy to care for, and reproduce at high rates, they are a potential model organism, particularly for studying development. A major drawback, however, is the long generation time (several months) compared to other research organisms.
In 2018 the genome was sequenced which provides an essential foundation for further research.
Marbled crayfish have caused concern as a potential invasive species because only a single individual is needed to establish a new population, and they can reproduce at high rates. They have since been introduced into natural ecosystems on three continents. They have been found in the wild in the following countries probably through release or escape from aquariums:
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Wikipedia