''Cherax boesemani'' is a species of
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 spe ...
from
West Papua in Indonesia (Ajamaru Lakes and the Ajamaru River, which belong to the Kais River drainage
[ and Kepala Burung or ]Vogelkop
The Bird's Head Peninsula (Indonesian: , , meaning Bird's Head in Indonesian and Dutch) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai'') is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesia ...
Peninsulas). It is popular as a freshwater aquarium pet across Asia, Europe, and North America.
''Cherax boesemani'' is a relatively large crayfish, adult body length is . Variable blues, reds, and oranges are the predominant carapace colours, which has led to extensive selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...
to create new commercial strains, with names such as ''Blue Moon'', ''Supernova'', ''Papuan red'', ''tricolor'' and ''Red Brick''. Hybrids with '' C. pulcher'' commercially known as ''Thunderbolt Blue Moon'' are also available.
References
External links
*
Parastacidae
Crustaceans of Indonesia
Crustaceans described in 2008
Fauna of Western New Guinea
{{Crayfish-stub