68 
John E. Cooper and Martha Riser Cooper 
“recently discovered species of Orconectes — Cooper and Cooper, 
1977:199. 
Orconectes sp. A. — Cooper and Ashton, 1985:9. — Cooper and Braswell, 
1995:88, 89, 123, 126. 
Diagnosis — Body and eyes pigmented, eyes large. Rostrum acarinate, 
deeply excavate, with conspicuous acumen, delimited basally on each 
side by strong, acute marginal spine; margins of rostrum thickened, 
elevated, parallel from base to marginal spines; acumen 42.6 to 57.3 
(x = 50.1, n = 113) percent length of rostrum. Areola 3.0 to 5.8 (* 
= 4.2, n = 112) times longer than wide, constituting 25.5 to 31.1 
(x = 28.5, n = 113) percent of total carapace length (TCL) and 39.0 
to 43.3 (x = 41.2, n = 113) percent of postorbital carapace length 
(PCL), with 4 to 8 (mode 6) punctations across narrowest part. Cervical 
spines long, acute, usually single spine each side of carapace (70.7% 
of 123 specimens). Branchiostegal spine prominent, acute; hepatic spines 
or spiniform tubercles only occasionally present. Suborbital angle vestigial 
to nearly obsolete; postorbital ridge well developed, with prominent 
cephalic spine. Antennal scale 2.7 to 3.6 (x = 3.1, n = 113) times 
as long as broad, widest just distal to midlength, lateral margin thickened 
and terminating cephalically in long spine. Palm of chela inflated 
(ratio width to depth 1.4-1. 8, j = 1.6, n = 108), lateral margin costate 
for most of length; dorsal surfaces of palm and fingers usually with 
dense setae; mesial margin of palm with 2 rows of tubercles, mesialmost 
row subserrate, with 6 to 11 (mode 7-8) prominent, acute tubercles; 
irregular row of 4 to 10 (mode 7-8) smaller, truncate or subsquamous 
(but often acute) tubercles subtending mesial row dorsally; conspicuous 
tuft of setae at opposable bases of both fingers; fixed finger with 
well defined ridges dorsally, mildly costate dorsolaterally; opposable 
surface of finger with row of 4 to 8 (mode 5-6) knoblike tubercles 
between base and about midlength of finger, and isolated subconical 
tubercle ventral to continuous row of denticles at base of distal one- 
third or one-fourth; opposable surface of dactyl moderately excised 
in basal one-third in adult males; dactyl with well defined dorsal ridges 
flanked by rows of setiferous punctations; proximal one-half to two- 
thirds of mesial margin of dactyl with 2 rows of prominent tubercles, 
ventral row often subserrate in dorsal outline, with 4 to 10 (mode 
6) somewhat depressed, often spiniform tubercles; dorsal row with 
3 to 8 (mode 4) tubercles, and sometimes subtended laterally by third 
short, irregular row; opposable surface of dactyl with row of 4 to 9 
(mode 6) knoblike tubercles between base and about midlength. 
Merus of cheliped with at least 2 long subdistal spines dorsally, 
and 1 to 4 short, acute spines proximal to them; ventromesial ridge 
