Can be told from
C. communis in the field by the male pleopod 1: the last segment is as wide at the tip as the base in communis vs narrower at the tip than at the base in this species. The tip of the male second pleopods' endopod is also different between the two species, with this species having a medial process that is absent in
communis. The only other species that looks similar is
laticaudus (reported from KY and LA, could reasonably occur over a large area in the interior southeast) which has on average a more rounded tip to the male first pleopod endite and lacks a medial process on the tip of the male second pleopod endopod.
(1) Other species that may overlap with
racovitai either have ovate pleopod 1 endites, have subquadrate endites with long plumose setae at the tip (simple setae in
racovitai) or are cave-adapted. See also
C. r. australis (details on seperating them are avaliable on the species page).
The newly described
C. burkensis, endemic to Burkes Garden in western Virginia, is for all intents and purposes identical to this species except for some very minute differences in the male pleopod 2 endopod tip and conpsicous adaptations to subterranean life (lack of pigment, longer legs, etc.)
(2)