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| Eastern Swamp Crayfish (Swamp Yabby) - Gramastacus lacus | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 10 2014, 12:44 PM (1,402 Views) | |
| Taipan | Apr 10 2014, 12:44 PM Post #1 |
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Eastern Swamp Crayfish (Swamp Yabby) - Gramastacus lacus![]() Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class: Malacostraca Order: Decapoda Superfamily: Parastacoidea Family: Parastacidae Genus: Gramastacus Species: Gramastacus lacus Gramastacus lacus is a recently described species of freshwater crayfish from coastal New South Wales, Australia. The small freshwater crayfish, reaches a maximum weight of 7 gr and 21.3 mm in length. It is distinguished by a large male genital papilla, large raised post orbital ridges, laterally compressed carapace and elongated chelae. Adorably Tiny Crayfish Discovered (and It's a Cannibal) By Becky Oskin, Senior Writer | April 09, 2014 03:06pm ET ![]() A photo of the tiny new crayfish species, Gramastacus lacus, discovered in New South Wales, Australia. A new species of crayfish discovered in southeast Australia's coastal lakes and swamps is one of the world's smallest crayfish species, researchers report. The tiny, blue-black crustacean resembles its larger cousins that end up in cooking pots, such as lobsters and crawdads. But this species, which locals call a lake yabby, measures only 0.5 to 0.7 inches (12 to 18 millimeters) long. The biggest one found was just 0.8 inches (21 mm) long, and weighed 0.2 ounces (7 grams). Despite its small size, the yabby is a powerful burrower, riddling its swampy habitat with burrows up to 3 feet (1 meter) deep. The burrows reach down to the shallow water table, and help the crayfish survive dry stretches — Australia's coastal swamps regularly drain and dry up, then flood with up to 5 feet (1.5 m) of water. Thick grasses and reeds in the swamps and lakes provide protection for the petite crayfish, which is prey for eels, birds, fish, lizards and turtles. The freshwater species was named Gramastacus lacus, which refers to its favored habitat in ephemeral waterways such as Wallis Lake, Wamberal Lagoon and Myall Lake, which periodically flood and dry, reports Robert McCormack, a lead biologist with the Australian Crayfish Project. McCormack described the new species in a report published April 4 in the journal ZooKeys. In his report, McCormack also suggested replacing the common name of lake yabby with eastern swamp crayfish instead. Males of the new species grow bigger than females, but both sexes have long claws called chelae that they wave in defense when menaced by other crayfish or predators (these crayfish are cannibals). Because of their giant claws, crayfish are more nimble in the water than on land. The newly found swamp crayfish has a unique walk when out of water, McCormack wrote. It travels forward via a series of rhythmic plunges, raising its claws and upper body with its legs, then plunging down and forward like a swimmer doing the butterfly stroke. "This up and forward movement is unusual, but the crayfish easily moves up, forward and down without missing a beat," McCormack wrote. The new species is potentially endangered because of rapid development in its coastal habitat, but there are also several populations within protected national parks, McCormack reported. http://www.livescience.com/44715-new-tiny-crayfish-species-australia.html McCormack RB (2014) The eastern swamp crayfish Gramastacus lacus sp. n. (Decapoda, Parastacidae) a new species of freshwater crayfish from coastal New South Wales, Australia. ZooKeys 398: 53–67. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.398.7544 Abstract Gramastacus lacus sp. n., is described from coastal lowlands of the Central and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. Gramastacus lacus has a restricted distribution in ephemeral habitats, being dependent on regular natural flooding and drying cycles, and burrows for survival during temporary dry cycles. Documented are population distributions in lowland habitats (3–48 m, a.s.l.) from Wamberal Lagoon, north along the coastal strip to Wallis Lake. The species is small, reaching a maximum weight of 7 grams and 21.3 mm OCL, and distinguished by a large male genital papilla, large raised post orbital ridges, laterally compressed carapace and elongated chelae. http://www.pensoft.net/journals/zookeys/article/7544/the-eastern-swamp-crayfish-gramastacus-lacus-sp-n-decapoda-parastacidae-a-new-species-of-freshwater-crayfish-from-coasta Edited by Taipan, Apr 14 2014, 12:50 PM.
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