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Virile Crayfish
Orconectes virilis
Other common names: Northern Crayfish
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): SNA
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Species range
This species ranges very widely, occurring farther north in Canada than any other crayfish species. Its native range extends as far north as the southern tip of Hudson Bay; southward it occurs from New England to western Montana and through the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio River basins to Oklahoma and northern Arkansas; and it has also been widely introduced outside its native range (Pflieger, 1996). Recently it was discovered in the United Kingdom for the first time in the River Lee system of North London (Ahern et al., 2008).
Habitat
It occurs primarily in streams and is most abundant in those that are fertile, warm, moderately turbid, without strong base flows and with abundant cover in teh form of slab rock, logs and organic debris. It can be abundant in some artificial ponds with relatively stable water levels, but lacking large populations of bass or other predatory fish. In prairie creeks and sloughs having intermittent flow, deep mud bottoms and wide seasonal fluctuations in area and depth, it is often replaced by O. immunis (Pflieger, 1996). Usually not in riffles; occupied by other species.
Food habits
Opportunistic.
Reproductive characteristics
Amplexus in fall; brooding mid-Mar - Jul; females do not breed until 2nd yr, amles perhaps late in 1st yr. In North Carolina, a Form I male and a female were collected in copulation in late March in the Linville River and an ovigerous female was also collected (Simmons and Fraley, 2010).
Threats or limiting factors
There are no threats. In Canada, it is being outcompeted at some sites by invasive crayfish, such as O. rusticus and O. immunis (Jansen et al., 2009).
