Meeting Abstract

127.1  Monday, Jan. 7  Happy Birthday Marmorkrebs! Ten years of research on an enigmatic crayfish SCHOLTZ, G; MARTIN, Peer*; Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin; Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin gerhard.scholtz@rz.hu-berlin.de

In the last decade of the 20th century some rumors occurred in internet discussion groups of hobby aquarists dealing with an enigmatic crayfish with strange reproductive behavior and of unknown origin. In 2003 this crayfish, popularly named Marmorkrebs (marbled crayfish), was introduced to science. In the publication the parthenogenetic reproduction mode and the affinity to American Cambaridae could be revealed. These results made the Marmorkrebs a highly interesting candidate for further studies. Over the last decade numerous papers have been published addressing aspects of the biology of this crayfish. These related to the mode of parthenogenesis, embryonic and postembryonic development, species identity, geographical origin, epigenetic variation, ecology, conservation issues, etc. Despite this progress in knowledge about the Marmorkrebs, a number of its riddles are still unresolved. Our presentation provides a summary of the research activities of the last ten years and develops a perspective for future investigations.