“Marmorkrebs” is an informal name given to marbled crayfish that were discovered by hobbyists in Germany in the late 1990s.
Marmorkrebs are parthenogenetic: they are all females, and reproduce without sex. This is the first decapod crustacean found that reproduces only this way, giving it has incredible potential as a model organism for research. Some of the advantages of Marmorkrebs are that they are genetically identical, reproduce at high rates, and are easy to care for.
“Marmorkrebs” roughly translates from German as “marbled crab.” The current scientific name for Marmorkrebs is Procambarus fallax f. virginalis; they are an asexual form of slough crayfish (P. fallax) that live across Florida and southern Georgia in the United States. There are no known native populations of Marmorkrebs in North America; the only known cases of them in the wild are where they have been introduced by humans.
Marmorkrebs are also an invasive species. They have been introducted in many places, and have established populations in at least three countries, damaging agriculture and threatening native species. Marmorkrebs should not be used for bait, kept in outdoor tanks or ponds, or placed in any other situation where they could be released into natural ecosystems. For research about the use of crayfish as live bait, see here. Many jurisdictions have laws regulating the import and release of crayfish. In North America, Missouri added Marmorkrebs to its prohibited species list on 1 March 2011.
Marmorkrebs blog. Award-winning science writing! Updates roughly weekly, usually Tuesday.
Research
Colonies and stocks
North American researchers can contact Zen Faulkes to get Marmorkrebs for research. Establishment of the Faulkes lab Marmorkrebs colony was supported by the National Science Foundation (award 0813581).
Cover gallery
Forthcoming research papers
Hippler D, Hu N, Steiner M, Scholtz G, Franz G. 2011. Experimental mineralization of crustacean eggs leads to surprising tissue conservation: new implications for the fossilization of Precambrian-Cambrian embryos. Biogeosciences Discussions8: 12051-12077. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bgd-8-12051-2011 (Advance copy of paper in review for Biogeosciences)
Vogt G. Hidden treasures in stem cells of indeterminately growing bilaterian invertebrates. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports: In press. Journal website
Vogt G. Life span, early life stage protection, mortality and senescence in freshwater Decapoda. In: Yeo DCJ, Klaus S, Cumberlidge N (eds.), Advances in Freshwater Decapod Systematics and Biology (Crustaceana Monographs 17), in press. Brill: Leiden. Publisher website
Sintoni S, Benton JL, Beltz BS, Hansson BS, Harzsch S. 2012. Neurogenesis in the central olfactory pathway of adult decapod crustaceans: development of the neurogenic niche in the brains of procambarid crayfish. Neural Development7: 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1749-8104-7-1
Soedarini B, Klaver L, Roessink I, Widianarko B, van Straalen NM, van Gestel CAM. 2012. Copper kinetics and internal distribution in the marbled crayfish (Procambarus sp.). Chemosphere87(4): 333-338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.12.017
Feria TP, Faulkes Z. 2011. Forecasting the distribution of Marmorkrebs, a parthenogenetic crayfish with high invasive potential, in Madagascar, Europe, and North America. Aquatic Invasions6(1): 55-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/ai.2011.6.1.07 Supplement: Google Spreadsheet of locations used to train models.
Filipová L, Grandjean F, Chucholl C, Soes DM, Petrusek A. 2011. Identification of exotic North American crayfish in Europe by DNA barcoding. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems401: 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2011025
Jimenez SA, Faulkes Z. 2011. Can the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish Marmorkrebs compete with other crayfish species in fights? Journal of Ethology29(1): 115-120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10164-010-0232-2
Rubach M, Crum S, Van den Brink P. 2011. Variability in the dynamics of mortality and immobility responses of freshwater arthropods exposed to chlorpyrifos. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology60(4): 708-721. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9582-6
Vogt G. 2011a. Marmorkrebs: natural crayfish clone as emerging model for various biological disciplines. Journal of Biosciences36(2): 377-382. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12038-011-9070-9
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Vogt G. Life span, early life stage protection, mortality and senescence in freshwater Decapoda. In: Yeo DCJ, Klaus S, Cumberlidge N (eds.), Advances in Freshwater Decapod Systematics and Biology (Crustaceana Monographs 17), in press. Brill: Leiden.
Sintoni S, Benton JL, Beltz BS, Hansson BS, Harzsch S. 2012. Neurogenesis in the central olfactory pathway of adult decapod crustaceans: development of the neurogenic niche in the brains of procambarid crayfish. Neural Development 7: 1.
