Procambarus alleni

"Blue crayfish" redirects here. For other uses, see Blue crayfish (disambiguation).

The Everglades crayfish^[2] (Procambarus alleni), sometimes called the Florida crayfish, the blue crayfish, the electric blue crayfish, or the sapphire crayfish, is a species of freshwater crayfish endemic to Florida in the United States. Its natural range is the area east of St. Johns River and all of Florida from Levy County and Marion County southwards, as well as on some of the Florida Keys.^[4] It is included on the IUCN Red List as a species of Least Concern. The blue crayfish is frequently kept in a freshwater aquaria.^[1] In the wild, this species varies from brown-tan to blue, but an aquarium strain has been selectively bred to achieve a brilliant cobalt blue color.^[5]

Everglades crayfish
The most common morph in aquaristics called the blue crayfish
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Family:	Cambaridae
Genus:	Procambarus
Species:	P. alleni
Binomial name
Procambarus alleni (Faxon, 1884) [3]

It should not be confused with the burrowing Cambarus monongalensis, also known as the blue crayfish, but native to Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.^[6][7][8]

Gallery

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  Gravid mother cradling eggs inside her swimmerets
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  Female dwelling in a small cave
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  Male dwelling in a small cave