Skip to main content

Possible online services disruption due to Internet related outage

A worldwide technology outage is causing disruption to some State of Illinois online systems.  We are aware of this issue and are diligently working on restoration.

Attention hunters: Visit our FAQ page for information about the use of centerfire, single-shot rifles for deer hunting in Illinois. 

Governor JB Pritzker Illinois.gov Contact IDNR DNR A to Z

virile crayfish

virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis)
Photo © Chris Taylor, Illinois Natural History Survey

Features and Behaviors

FEATURES
This crayfish is the most common crayfish in Illinois. The virile crayfish has large claws with numerous bumps on them. The back is light brown to dark green-brown.

BEHAVIORS
The virile crayfish lives in rocky creeks and rivers and lake margins. Burrows of this crayfish may be found along a streambank, but it more frequently hides and overwinters under rocks. The virile crayfish usually reaches maturity in its third year. About 450 eggs are laid in the period March through July. This crayfish eats both dead and living plants and animals.

Illinois Range

Taxonomy

​Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Cambaridae

Illinois Status: common, native