About Faxonius obscurus (Hagen, 1870)
Faxonius obscurus is a crayfish species belonging to the family Cambaridae. It is commonly known by two common names: the Allegheny crayfish and the obscure crayfish. This species is native to the northeastern United States, specifically found in Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. It has been introduced to nearby areas, including Massachusetts, Vermont, and the Canadian province of Ontario. It inhabits slow-moving waterways and pools that have rocky substrates, and it hides beneath rocks. It also burrows into the substrate. This species is generally common to abundant across its range. It faces only minor threats in some portions of its range. It has been displaced by the rusty crayfish, a more aggressive related species that outcompetes other crayfish in their shared habitat. Additional threats to the species include water pollution, most notably pollution from mine runoff. F. obscurus has itself become an introduced species in some regions, usually when it is released from bait buckets.
