Chris Lukhaup was one of the co-authors of the paper that introduced Marmorkrebs to the scientific world (Scholtz et al. 2003). He has been active in describing many new species of crustaceans, often emerging from the pet trade (for example, Lukhaup & Pekny 2006, 2008). He takes stunning pictures. He recently contacted me with this bit of history about Marmorkrebs, which I share with his permission (lightly edited):
When I contacted Jay Huner in Louisiana back in 2000 to tell him that I believe that the Marmorkrebs is a parthenogenetic species, he wrote me back and told me that this is impossible! I sent him some animals to check and he wrote me back that this was Procambarus clarkii. ;-) Also he told me that I need to look better because there have to be males and I should learn the difference between males and females.
In 2002, I had my first articles in some aquarium magazines describing the animal and warning already. I wrote an article and offered $3000 for a person bringing me a male Marmorkrebs... this was published in several magazines but nothing happened. Then I went to the USA myself to collect, and I was pretty sure that the Marmorkrebs was very close to Procambarus fallax. I send some animals to Berlin and they approved it. So this is the story of the Marmorkrebs from my side.
Thank you for providing that bit of history!
Reference
Lukhaup C, Pekny R. 2006. Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi, a new species of crayfish (Crustacea: Decapoda: Parastacidae) from the centre of the Vogelkop Peninsula in Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), Indonesia. Zoologische Mededelingen 80(1): 101-107. http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/41228
Lukhaup C, Pekny R. 2008. Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species of crayfish (Crustacea: Decapoda: Parastacidae) from the centre of the Vogelkop Peninsula in Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), Indonesia. Zoologische Mededelingen 82: 331-340. http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/82/nr02/a33
Scholtz G, Braband A, Tolley L, Reimann A, Mittmann B, Lukhaup C, Steuerwald F, Vogt G. 2003. Parthenogenesis in an outsider crayfish. Nature 421(6925): 806-806. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/421806a
External links
Chris Lukhaup on Facebook
Chris Lukhaup’s pictures on Flickr
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