''Engaewa'' is a
genus of burrowing
crayfish
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
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
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s 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":
References
Parastacidae
Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia
Freshwater crustaceans of Australia
Warren bioregion
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