Austropotamobius pallipes

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

White-clawed crayfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Astacidae
Genus: Austropotamobius
Species:
A. pallipes
Binomial name
Austropotamobius pallipes
(Lereboullet, 1858)
Synonyms[2]
  • Astacus pallipes Lereboullet, 1858
  • Astacus pallipes var. flavus Lereboullet, 1858
  • Astacus fontinalis Carbonnier, 1869

Austropotamobius pallipes is an

freshwater crayfish, and the only crayfish native to the British Isles.[3] Its common names
include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.

Distribution

It is found from the easterly

extirpated
).

It was once found across most of Great Britain; however its distribution is rapidly shrinking, and it is recorded in

noble crayfish, itself also facing competition from the introduced signal crayfish. Dowdeswell Reservoir, Gloucestershire, has the species and during works of 1998, Severn Trent ensured its protection.[7] Disease from invasive species has wiped it from the naturally alkaline River Frome, Bristol, 2007–08.[8]

Ecology

It is absent from more acidic waters

mollusc species. Trout and three-spined stickleback also occur in the same habitat. Tree roots and rocks in the banks provide shelter. Juveniles shelter in vegetation such as watercress
and grass mats growing out of the bank.

Description

A. pallipes is olive-brown, with pale undersides to the claws (whence its specific Latin epithet pallipes, "pale feet"). It may grow to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and adult sizes below 10 cm (3.9 in) are more common. It typically lives in rivers and streams about 1 m (3 ft) deep, where it hides among rocks and submerged logs, emerging to forage for food, and in lakes.

Conservation

Two main reasons for decline are:

Further reading

Sweeney, N. and Sweeney, P. 2017. Expansion of the White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet)) population in Munster Blackwater. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 35(2) pp. 94–98.

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T2430A9438817.en
    .
  2. doi:10.1093/jcbiol/rux070
    .
  3. ^ "Freshwater white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes)". ARKive.org. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  4. ^ CESAME (March 2010). "Prélèvements et gestion quantitative de la ressource sur le bassin versant du Gier Phase 1" (PDF). Saint-Etienne Metropole. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  5. ISBN 978-1-85716-727-6
    .
  6. ^ "Endangered crayfish colony found". BBC News. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  7. ^ ‘Conservation of the native crayfish population at Dowdeswell Reservoir during engineering works’, March 1998, for Severn Trent Water.
  8. ^ Gray, Louise (21 July 2009). "Crayfish breeding programme to save native species from American invader". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  9. ISBN 978-2-85653-579-0
    .
  10. S2CID 91259855
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Austropotamobius_pallipes&oldid=1214263631"