What are Marmorkrebs?
“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 (see here), kept in outdoor tanks or ponds (Marmorkrebs readily leave water to migrate over land; see here), or placed in any other situation where they could be released into natural ecosystems. 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 introductions
View Marmorkrebs introductions in a larger map
Timeline
 News and views
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).
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Forthcoming research papers
 Gallardo B, Aldridge DC. 2013. The ‘dirty dozen’: socio-economic factors amplify the invasion potential of 12 high-risk aquatic invasive species in Great Britain and Ireland. Journal of Applied Ecology: in press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12079
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
2013 research papers
Chucholl C. 2013. Invaders for sale: trade and determinants of introduction of ornamental freshwater crayfish. Biological Invasions 15(1): 125-141.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0273-2
Faulkes Z. 2013. How much is that crayfish in the window? Online monitoring of Marmorkrebs, Procambarus fallax f. virginalis (Hagen, 1870) in the North American pet trade. Freshwater Crayfish 19(1): 39-44.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5869/fc.2013.v19.039
Dataset: Faulkes Z. 2013. Online monitoring of Marmorkrebs in the North American pet trade. figshare. Retrieved 22:51, Mar 06, 2013 (GMT)
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.645344
Soedarini B, Klaver L, Giesen D, Roessink I, Widianarko B, van Straalen NM, van Gestel CAM. 2013. Effect of copper exposure on histamine concentrations in the marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax forma virginalis). Animal Biology 63(2): 139–147.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15707563-00002401
Shen H, Braband A, Scholtz G. 2013. Mitogenomic analysis of decapod crustacean phylogeny corroborates traditional views on their relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66(3): 776-789.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.002
Vogt G. Abbreviation of larval development and extension of brood care as key features of the evolution of freshwater Decapoda. Biological Reviews 88(1): 81-116.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2012.00241.x
2012 research papers
 Chucholl C, Morawetz K, Groß H. The clones are coming – strong increase in Marmorkrebs [Procambarus fallax (Hagen, 1870) f. virginalis] records from Europe. Aquatic Invasions 7(4): 511-519.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/ai.2012.7.4.008
Faulkes Z, Feria TP, Muńoz J. Do Marmorkrebs, Procambarus fallax f. virginalis, threaten freshwater Japanese ecosystems? Aquatic Biosystems 8: 13.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2046-9063-8-13
Hippler D, Hu N, Steiner M, Scholtz G, Franz G. 2012. Experimental mineralization of crustacean eggs: new implications for the fossilization of Precambrian–Cambrian embryos. Biogeosciences 9: 1765-1775.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-1765-2012
Martin P, Scholtz G. 2012. A case of intersexuality in the parthenogenetic Marmorkrebs (Decapoda: Astacida: Cambaridae). Journal of Crustacean Biology 32(3): 345-350.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/193724012X629031
Mięsikowski M, Napiórkowska T, Templin J, Wilczyńska B. 2012. Embryonic development of Marmokrebs (Procambarus fallax forma virginalis, Hagen 1870). Acta Biologica Cracoviensia Series Botanica 54(suppl. 1): 69. (Conference abstract only)
http://www.ib.uj.edu.pl/abc/pdf/suppl54_1/sup_54_s1.pdf#page=33
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.
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.). Chemosphere 87(4): 333-338.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.12.017
Shen H, Braband A, Scholtz G. Mitogenomic analysis of decapod crustacean phylogeny corroborates traditional views on their relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66(3): 776-789.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.002
Vogt G. 2012. Ageing and longevity in the Decapoda (Crustacea): a review. Zoologischer Anzeiger 251(1): 1-25.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2011.05.003
Vogt G. 2012. Hidden treasures in stem cells of indeterminately growing bilaterian invertebrates. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports 8(2): 305-317.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12015-011-9303-1
For more research papers, click here.
Popular press
Anonymous. 2007. British crayfish could be wiped out by alien species with the plague. The Daily Mail. 28 June 2007.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-464965/British-crayfish-wiped-alien-species-plague.html
Faulkes Z. 2009. How Marmorkrebs can make the world a better place. In: Rohn J (ed.), Grant RP (deputy ed.), Zivkovic B (series ed.), The Open Laboratory: The Best In Science Writing On Blogs 2008, pp. 86-87. Coturnix: Chapel Hill.
http://www.lulu.com/content/6110823
Original post: http://marmorkrebs.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-marmorkrebs-can-make-world-better.html
Faulkes Z. 2011. The decade the clones came. In: Goldman JG (ed.), Zivkovic B (series ed.), The Open Laboratory: The Best of Science Writing on the Web 2010, pp. 151-156. Coturnix: Chapel Hill.
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-open-laboratory-2010/15156343
Original post: http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=the-decade-the-clones-came-beware-t-2010-11-29
Heimer K. 2010. Invasion of self-cloning crayfish alarms Madagascar. Deutsche Presse-Agentur wire story.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/339974,alarms-madagascar-feature.html
Horton J. 2013. Scots wildlife at risk from alien crayfish breeds. The Scotsman. 21 April 2013.
http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/scots-wildlife-at-risk-from-alien-crayfish-breeds-1-2904005
Löwe K. 2010. Gefahr aus dem Aquarium. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (Central German Newspaper) news story. 13 October 2010.
http://www.mz-web.de/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=ksta/page&atype=ksArtikel&aid=1286541137817&calledPageId=987490165154.
Privenau K. 2010. Marmorkrebs bringt Pest. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (Central German Newspaper) news story. 12 October 2010.
http://www.mz-web.de/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=ksta/page&atype=ksArtikel&aid=1286541132341&calledPageId=987490165154
Robbins M. 2009. Owning clones. Tropical Fish Hobbyist 57(7): 72-74.
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/freshwater/feature-articles/owning-clones.htm
Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. 2012. Discovery of marbled crayfish creates concern.
https://www.havochvatten.se/en/start/about-us/press-and-media/press-releases/press-releases/12-5-2012-discovery-of-marbled-crayfish-creates-concern.html
Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. 2013. First analysis of marbled crayfish completed.
https://www.havochvatten.se/en/start/about-us/press-and-media/press-releases/press-releases/12-5-2012-discovery-of-marbled-crayfish-creates-concern.html
Laws
Missouri has added Marmorkrebs to its prohibited species list, effective 1 March 2011. Read more here.
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This work by Zen Faulkes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
This site maintained by Zen Faulkes. Last updated 15 May 2013.
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