A Naturalist’s Guide to the Crayfish of Ohio

About this book

A Naturalist's Guide to the Crayfish of Ohio, the first stand-alone treatment of Ohio's crayfish fauna to be published since Clarence L. Turner's 1926 Crayfishes of Ohio, offers a detailed overview of Ohio's 22 native and two introduced species of crayfish. Each species account includes colour photographs of living specimens, line drawings highlighting anatomical features, seasonality charts, and updated range maps based on extensive collection data. A concise introduction includes a primer of crayfish anatomy, collecting techniques, an easy-to-follow dichotomous key, and engaging descriptions of the role of crayfish as both predators and prey, highlighting the importance of these often overlooked but fascinating creatures in shaping Ohio's aquatic environments.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Roger F. Thoma was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1951 and spent the first ten years of his life in the South, where he first met the noble crawdad. After moving to Ohio in the early 1960s, he began studying crayfish in 1971, assisting Raymond F. Jezerinac at The Ohio State University's Newark Campus. He has since collected and studied crayfish from most of the Appalachian Mountains and has described 16 (and counting) new species of crayfish to date. He was employed by the Ohio EPA for 22 years and by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute for 15 years, and continues his research in his retirement.