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Parastacidae
The Parastacidae are the family of freshwater crayfish found in the Southern Hemisphere. The family is a classic Gondwana-distributed taxon, with extant members in South America, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, and extinct taxa also in Antarctica. Classification and phylogeny Parastacidae belongs to the superfamily Parastacoidea, the monotypic taxon which contains all crayfish in the Southern Hemisphere. Parastacoidea is the sister taxon to Astacoidea, which contains all crayfish of the Northern Hemisphere. Crayfish and lobsters together comprise the infraorder Astacidea, as shown in the simplified cladogram below: Distribution Three genera are found in Chile, '' Virilastacus'', '' Samastacus'' and '' Parastacus'', the last of which also occurs disjunctly in southern Brazil and Uruguay. There are no crayfish native to continental Africa, but seven species on Madagascar, all of the genus '' Astacoides''. Australasia is particularly rich in crayfish. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crayfish
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some species are found in brooks and streams, where fresh water is running, while others thrive in swamps, ditches, and paddy fields. Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some species, such as '' Procambarus clarkii'', are hardier. Crayfish feed on animals and plants, either living or decomposing, and detritus. The term "crayfish" is applied to saltwater species in some countries. Terminology The name "crayfish" comes from the Old French word ' ( Modern French '). The word has been modified to "crayfish" by association with "fish" ( French language">Modern French '). The word has been modified to "crayfish" by association with "fish" ( American variant "crawfish" is similarly derived. Some kinds of crayfish are known lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astacoides
''Astacoides'' is a genus of freshwater crayfish endemic to Madagascar. The first specimens were brought to Europe in 1839, and seven species are now recognised, most of which are considered as threatened on the IUCN Red List. They are large and slow-growing, and are threatened by habitat loss, overexploitation by local people and by spread of introduced non-indigenous marbled crayfish (''Procambarus virginalis''). They are only found in a relatively small part of the island, mostly in undisturbed upland areas. They belong to the Gondwana-distributed family Parastacidae, but their nearest relatives live in Australasia, there being no native crayfish in mainland Africa or India. Description ''Astacoides'' species are large for freshwater crayfish, reaching a carapace length of up to in the case of ''A. betsileoensis''. Males and females are similar, except for the organs directly involved in reproduction. Thomas Henry Huxley, in his book ''The Crayfish'', noted that ''Astacoides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cherax
''Cherax'', commonly known as yabby/yabbies in Australia, is the most widespread genus of fully aquatic crayfish in the Southern Hemisphere. Various species of cherax may be found in both still and flowing bodies of freshwater across most of Australia and New Guinea. Together with '' Euastacus'', it is also the largest crayfish genus in the Southern Hemisphere. Habitat Members of the cherax genus can be found in lakes, rivers, and streams across most of Australia and New Guinea. The most common and widely distributed species in Australia is the common yabby (''C. destructor''). It is generally found in lowland rivers and streams, lakes, swamps, and impoundments at low to medium altitude, largely within the Murray–Darling Basin. Common yabbies are found in many ephemeral waterways, and can survive dry conditions for long periods of time (at least several years) by aestivating (lying dormant) in burrows sunk deep into muddy creek and swamp beds. In New Guinea, ''Cherax'' cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virilastacus
''Virilastacus'' is a genus of freshwater burrowing crayfish species endemic to Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci .... It has four described species. The first species was described in 1914, but since 2005, three other species have been added to this genus. Species *'' Virilastacus araucanius'' Faxon, 1914 *'' Virilastacus jarai'' Erich H. Rudolph and Keith A. Crandall, 2012 *'' Virilastacus retamali'' Erich H. Rudolph and Keith A. Crandall, 2007 *'' Virilastacus rucapihuelensis'' Rudolph and Crandall, 2005 References Parastacidae Freshwater crustaceans of South America Endemic fauna of Chile Edible crustaceans Decapod genera Taxa named by Horton H. Hobbs Jr. {{crayfish-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gramastacus
''Gramastacus'' is a genus of freshwater crayfish species from southeast Australia. It has two described species. Discovery Two species of ''Gramastacus'' were originally described in 1972 by Edgar Riek from the Grampian region of western Victoria, Australia: '' Gramastacus insolitus'' and ''Gramastacus gracilis''. In 1990, ''G. gracilis'' was determined to be a junior synonym of ''G. insolitus''. In 2014, a new species '' Gramastacus lacus'' from the coastal regions of New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ... was formally described by McCormack. Species *Western Swamp Crayfish - '' Gramastacus insolitus'' Riek, 1972 (western Victoria, Australia) - a very small non-burrowing crayfish that shares burrows with larger crayfish species *Eastern Swamp Crayf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aenigmastacus
''Aenigmastacus crandalli'' is a species of fossil freshwater crayfish. It was found in early Eocene Okanagan Highlands lake deposits in British Columbia, and was described in 2011. It is the first member of the Gondwana-distributed family Parastacidae to be found in the Northern Hemisphere, and is the only species in the genus ''Aenigmastacus''. Twelve specimens are known, with a total body length of . On some specimens, details of the internal anatomy can be seen due to the exceptional preservation. Distribution ''Aenigmastacus'' was discovered in the Tranquille Formation's McAbee Fossil Beds of British Columbia, Canada, at . The McAbee beds comprise a thickness of siliceous sediments within a sequence dominated by volcaniclastic rocks. They are formed from lake deposits, based on the presence of five families of freshwater fish and other terrestrial taxa, and the fossil-bearing sediments have been dated to the Early Eocenes Ypresian. The deposition of a silica-rich sedim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astacopsis
''Astacopsis'' is a genus of crayfish endemic to the island of Tasmania. There are three extant species, '' Astacopsis gouldi'', '' Astacopsis franklinii'', and '' Astacopsis tricornis''. All are threatened by illegal harvesting, and ''A. gouldi'' is protected by law. ''A. franklinii'' is found in the eastern half of the island, with ''A. tricornis'' taking its place in the west. ''A. gouldi'' is found only in rivers draining into the Bass Strait, except for the Tamar River. The three species were named by naturalist Ellen Clark in 1936. Prior to Clark's revision, all three species were collectively known as ''Astacopsis franklinii''. The most famous depiction of a crayfish of the genus ''Astacopsis'' is in the "Sketchbook of fishes" by convict artist William Buelow Gould, painted at the Macquarie Harbour Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately , and has an average depth of , with deeper places up to . It is n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engaewa
''Engaewa'' is a genus of burrowing crayfish belonging to the family Parastacidae. There are five recognised species, all endemic to the high-rainfall zone of south-west Western Australia, from Dunsborough to Albany. They are all small (up to 5 cm), and found only in freshwater swamps and seepages. Three of the five species are listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and are listed on the IUCN Red List as "endangered" (EN) or "critically endangered" (CR), while the remaining two are listed as "Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...": References Parastacidae Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia Freshwater crustaceans of Australia Warren bioregion {{Crayfish-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euastacus
''Euastacus'' is a genus of fresh water, freshwater crayfish known as "spiny crayfish". They are found in the south-east of the Australian mainland, along with another genus of crayfish, ''Cherax''. Both genera are members of the family Parastacidae, a family of freshwater crayfish restricted to the Southern Hemisphere. ''Euastacus'' crayfish are distinguished from the smooth-shelled ''Cherax'' species by the short robust spikes on their claws and carapace, and frequently, their larger size. Many ''Euastacus'' species grow to a relatively large size, with the Murray crayfish, Murray River crayfish (''Euastacus armatus'') being the second largest freshwater crayfish species in the world. (The largest freshwater crayfish in the world is the Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish (''Astacopsis gouldi''), found on the Australian island of Tasmania, and the genus ''Astacopsis'' is now known to be a very closely related sister genus to ''Euastacus''.) The genera ''Cherax'' and ''Euastac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samastacus
''Samastacus'' is a genus of southern crayfish in the family Parastacidae. It has a single species, ''Samastacus spinifrons''. This species is found in Chile, in the region of Talcahuano, south towards the Taitao Peninsula and the Island of Chiloé. It occurs in the rivers and streams of Maipo River basin to the north, and can be found in most of the Aconcagua River The Aconcagua River is a river in Chile that rises from the conflux of two minor tributary rivers at above sea level in the Andes, Juncal River from the east (which rise in the Nevado Juncal) and Blanco River from the south east. The Aconcag ... and tributaries. In addition, it is found in Lake Nahuel-Huapi, Argentina. It digs shallow burrows in tranquil water along river banks and lakes. References Further reading * External links * Parastacidae Monotypic decapod genera Crustaceans described in 1882 Taxa named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi {{crayfish-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cherax Pulcher
''Cherax pulcher'' is a species of crayfish from West Papua in Indonesia. It is popular as a freshwater aquarium species across Asia, Europe, and North America.Patoka, J., Kalous, L., & Kopecký, O. (2015). Imports of ornamental crayfish: the first decade from the Czech Republic’s perspective. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, (416), 04. Etymology The specific name is derived from the Latin word ''pulcher'', which means "beautiful". The name was chosen due to the species' bright coloration. Discovery The species was first observed being sold for aquariums, where it was ascertained that it likely represented a new species. However, it proved difficult to track down, as dealers' claims as to its location proved difficult to corroborate. It was eventually traced to the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea, where a number of specimens were collected with the help of the Maju Aquarium in Jakarta. Description Males of the species measure in length, while females ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engaeus
''Engaeus'' is a genus of freshwater crayfish found in Australia, the burrowing crayfishes. Sixteen of the 36 species in the genus occur in Tasmania, where they are known as the Tasmanian land crayfishes. The behaviour of these crayfish is notable as they live in burrows and construct large "chimneys" at the opening. The burrowing crayfish, in the genus ''Engaeus,'' are primarily found in Tasmania with 14 out of 16 species being endemic to the state with the other two species located in Victoria as well as Tasmania. The ''Engaeus'' genus is a highly specialized form of freshwater crayfish which is capable of living in tunnel systems in peaty, muddy or wetland environments with the burrows extending down to the water table (an underground level which defines the transition between water saturated ground and non-saturated ground such as the surface) where the water is generally constant. Description The burrowing crayfish spend their entire life cycle underground in tunnel syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
