New Crayfish Species Named After Hatfield and McCoy Feud
Posted on January 19, 2014
A new crayfish discovered in the Appalachian Mountains has been named after the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud. The crayfish was discovered in the Tug Fork River by West Liberty University researchers. They were accompanied by biologists from the United States Geological Survey Cooperation Research Unit and the Midwestern Biodiversity Institute. The crayfish was named Cambarus hatfieldi. It is also known as the Tug Valley Crayfish.
Dr. Zachary Loughman, West Liberty University assistant professor of biology, says in West Liberty University news story, "The new species worldwide distribution is limited to the Tug Fork river basin and its tributaries in Southwestern West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky and a small portion of Virginia, though the majority of the animal's range occurs in West Virginia. Since this is the same region of the famous Hatfield and McCoy rivalry, we thought it was only fitting to name the animal Cambarus hatfieldi, especially since the majority of its range occurs in West Virginia."
The researchers used genetics to differentiate C. hatfieldi from similar crayfish, such as Cambarus sciotensis and Cambarus angularis. This is the third crayfish species Dr. Loughman has named. The research was published here in the journal, Zootaxa.
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