Meet the Kiamichi Crayfish

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

The Kiamichi crayfish may resemble other Oklahoma crayfish – brownish red in color, four pair of walking legs, two large pinchers or “chelipeds,” a series of swimmerets located on the underside of the abdomen, and a fanlike tail – but its known range is considerably smaller than that of most species. First described in 1976 from Le Flore County, Oklahoma, it has only been found in Oklahoma, and only then in a 28-mile stretch of the Kiamichi River and its southeastern Oklahoma tributaries. Because of this limited range and other conservation concerns, it has been named a species of greatest conservation need by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Fun Fact: The Kiamichi crayfish was detected by Missouri State University in nine known reaches of the Kiamichi River and its tributaries from 2022 – 2023. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found the species was not warranted for federal listing protections in June, 2024.

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