National Capital Parks-East - Crustaceans

The types of crustaceans known from National Capital Parks-East (NACE) include 32 species of copepods, two species of amphipod including the groundwater amphipod (Stygobromus tenuis potomacus), an isopod (Caecidotea nodula), three species of crayfish and the Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus). One of the copepods, Acanthocyclops columbiensis, was described as a species new to science in 1988 and is still known worldwide from only two freshwater seeps within NACE. The amphipod (Stygobromus tenuis potomacus) is a State of Maryland watchlist species. Of the three species of crayfish known from NACE only the Devil Crayfish (Cambarus diogenes) is native. The other two species documented from NACE, the Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the Virile Crayfish (Orconectes virilis) are non-native introduced species. The Blue Crab only occasionally ranges into the southern area of NACE by following up the Potomac River.