Not a Marmorkreb!

NOT EVERYTHING WITH MOTTLING IS A MARMORKREB!

Procambarus fallax is not a Marmorkreb! Procambarus alleni (regular coloring) is not a Marmorkreb! Orconectes lancifer is not a Marmorkreb! Procambarus enoplosternum is not a Marmorkreb! Cambarellus shufeldtii is not a Marmorkreb! Cambarellus montezumae is not a Marmorkreb!

Do we see the reoccurring theme here? Not everything that has spots and mottling is a Marmorkreb. And yet, anytime someone posts a picture of a crayfish with spots or mottling on a forum there's a wave of people jumping on to say it's a Marmorkreb or try and correct an ID saying that what it was bought as is incorrect. And yet none of these people catch, collect, study or keep any species of crayfish. (Granted on AC and MFK, there's a few members from CM and BC that can ID but they're rarely involved in the threads, unfortunately.) Not everything is a damn Marmorkreb, you know? 

There are hundreds of mottled species of crayfish, and Marmorkrebs have very distinct patterns that are only matched in similarity by a few other crayfish species. No one takes notice of this though. It's like when I posted up pictures of my Orconectes lancifer and people tried to correct me and say I had a Marmorkreb. No, I don't. The patterning differences aside, the claw structure is different, the rostrum is different, the cervical groove is different and so forth. If you can't look at these features and tell the difference in the species, don't ID! It's why I don't ID crayfish outside a handful of species that I've studied in detail. I make suggestions, but say just that, they are suggestions or potential ideas. And then I refer people to CM, BC or individual people that I know can ID correctly. 

People just annoy me lately, it's just like when a blue crayfish shows up... OMG, it's blue! It must be a Procambarus alleni! Or a red crayfish, it totally has to be a Procambarus clarkii! And look a brown crayfish! That has to be a Procambarus acutus! Because no other species of crayfish possess those colorations outside those species!  *facepalm* 

On the bright side, none of this is as irritating as the every present statement of "A crayfish will catch and kill anything it can catch in it's claws!", which is spouted from the mouth of almost every person in aquaria forums (most of which have never kept crayfish). Which is blatantly not true. I mean, there are plenty of aggressive species and species that show more preference towards meat matter over vegetable. And then that statement holds true. But there are plenty of other species that aren't aggressive (some are downright passive) and/or prefer vegetable matter over meat. These don't often cause issues unless they're not being fed enough or properly or they're being harassed by something. 

I mean, wouldn't a better statement be "A crayfish has claws that can inflict real damage. If you have an aggressive or more carnivorous species, these claws will likely catch and injury/kill tankmates. Whereas a more passive or less carnivorous species will be more likely to only use them as defense when harassed. So, until you know your crayfish's species overall temperament and needs, and subsequently the individual's temperament, it should be housed separately to avoid any issues." Or you know, something like that. But then again, I've actually had people bitch about that... saying it requires too much research or work to do so. Well, like any other animal... DON'T BUY IT until you've researched its specifics and set up a proper home for it. Oy!

Sorry for the rant. I'm just a little irritated lately, it'll pass.