22 December 2008

Mistaken identification?

A recent question over in Yahoo! Answers points out one of the problems of using the name "marbled crayfish" to describe Marmorkrebs. Previously, I wrote:

(T)here are no doubt many species of crayfish that could be described as "marbled."

Since writing that, I got another species in my lab (which I haven't keyed out yet) with a very similar marbling pattern to Marmorkrebs, but which is definitely not Marmorkrebs. There are a few key differences in morphology, and the animals tends to a more orange hue than Marmorkrebs.

Similarly, looking at the picture in the Yahoo! Answers, I agree that it's marbled, but I don't think I agree that it's Marmorkrebs. The pattern of marbling looks wrong, particularly on the tail. It's the sort of thing that is very difficult to quantify.

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