09/24/2026
We just claimed the top two spots in a search for North America's largest crayfish!
A new study in The Scientific Naturalist section of the journal Ecology, led by Dr. Caitlin Bloomer with help from Dr. Loughman, Dr. Graham, and many other crayfish researchers, measured specimens from across the country to finally settle a debate among crayfish biologists: which species is the biggest?
The first and second largest crayfish record holders are both bottlebrush crayfish in the genus Barbicambarus. The largest crayfish measured was a Barbicambarus simmonsi at 86.6 mm total carapace length, and the second largest was a Barbicambarus cornutus close behind at 85.2 mm. If you measure their entire body, including their abdomen and claws, they stretch out to almost one foot! Both specimens were collected during a field research trip in 2011 by Dr. Loughman and West Liberty University students. These crayfish lived in our lab after being collected in 2011, and now, over a decade later, they are providing insight into just how large crayfish in North America can get.
We would like to give a huge thanks to Dr. Caitlin Bloomer for leading this effort, and to the whole team of researchers who spent time digging through jars in their museum collections all over the country.
Link to the journal article: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70471
