The largest freshwater crayfish. Giant crayfish

Who has ever tried crayfish? The meat of these arthropods is healthy. But everyone is used to crayfish measuring about 10 centimeters. But there are specimens in the world that do not fit into a bag.

Tasmanian crayfish are huge freshwater creatures. The rivers of Tasmania are home to the largest freshwater crayfish in the world. Previously, these crayfish grew up to 80 centimeters long, but now up to 60. Now they weigh up to 4 kilograms. They don't have time to grow any bigger, they are caught.

Crayfish are very picky about their home. They live in calm, shady streams and rivers, in clean, oxygenated water with an air temperature of at least 18 degrees. Crayfish live in bodies of water that flow north into the Bass Strait. The rivers flow at an altitude of 400 meters above sea level. Crayfish have a color depending on their habitat.

The colors are brown, greenish-blue. The crayfish's diet includes decaying wood and foliage, aquatic invertebrates and fish. Crayfish do not touch water rats, platypus, big fish. All these are enemies of the Tasmanian crayfish. Cancers are long-lived and live up to 40 years. They have a long reproductive period. Males begin to reproduce at approximately 9 years of age, and females at 14. Male crayfish start a harem of several females.

Offspring are hatched every two years. In autumn, females lay eggs on their abdominal legs. Juveniles hatch next summer 6 millimeters long. It is not surprising that the most big crayfish in the world are on the verge of extinction. This was facilitated by active human agricultural activity. Water quality is declining, crayfish are losing their habitats, and overfishing is occurring in rivers. This species of crayfish is considered rare and in Australia a law has been passed prohibiting its catching without special permission. Violators are punished with a fine that reaches up to 10 thousand dollars. The crayfish was named after the Australian naturalist John Gould. It is the largest cancer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Another type of large crayfish is found in Tasmania, New Guinea and Fiji, Australia and Madagascar. Parastacid crayfish live there. This cancer was discovered in Papua New Guinea. Their weight is up to 2 kilograms and their length is up to 30 centimeters. The colors of crayfish are bright and visible from everywhere.

The color depends on where you live. Sexual maturity of crayfish occurs at 6-9 months. They dig holes for themselves with their claws. They also use ready-made burrows, cavities under snags and stones. This species is called low-digging by specialists. Cancer lives only 5 years. Their death occurs if the water temperature drops below 10 degrees or above 36 degrees. Crayfish are not picky about water quality and survive in low oxygen levels.

The copper content in water, even very low levels, is detrimental to crayfish. Arthropods eat detritus, but can also feed plant foods, as well as living and dead small animals, small fish. They live well in captivity. That's why they are bred in aquariums. They can travel around the aquarium for days and study it. Crayfish are peaceful and get along with all fish, except for aggressive ones. Experts advise organizing shelters for them in the form of driftwood, ceramics or stones.

The largest crab in the world is the spider crab. This is a relative of cancer - a subtype of crustaceans. The first to describe this creature was the German explorer and naturalist Engelbert Kampfer. This happened in 1727. The shell of a spider crab is up to one and a half meters in circumference. In the straightened form, the length of all its limbs is about 4 meters. The largest claws - up to 40 centimeters - are found in males.

The weight of an adult crab is approximately 20 kilograms. It is found in the Sea of Japan near the islands of Kyushu and Honshu. It lives at a depth of more than 400 meters. The crab reaches sexual maturity by 10 years. In general, he lives at shallow depths and often becomes the prey of predators. Sometimes poachers catch it, and sometimes it becomes the object of commercial fishing. And their number is decreasing every year.
Take care of the flora and fauna of our planet!

The largest freshwater crayfish in the world can be found in the rivers of Tasmania. Even in the recent past, these crayfish could grow up to 80 centimeters in length or more, and they weighed at least five kilograms. Now Tasmanian crayfish are on average no more than 40-60 centimeters in length and weigh only 3-4 kilograms. And all because these individuals simply do not have time to live to gigantic sizes, they are caught.

In Latin they are called Astacopsis gouldi; until recently, specimens 80 cm long and weighing more than 5 kg were normal. Today, such giants are practically never found, and the average parameters of crustaceans are about 50 cm with a mass of 3-4 kg.

Those who want to see this miracle of nature with their own eyes need to go to the north of the island, where there are slowly flowing rivers and streams with warm (from 18 degrees) and very clean water- it is there that giant crayfish are still found.

What do the biggest crayfish eat? The largest crayfish in the world feed on everything that is found in water bodies. These are decaying foliage and wood, fish, as well as aquatic invertebrates. Bypass arthropods platypus, large fish and water rats. All of them are natural enemies of the Tasmanian crayfish.

This animal lies and waits to capture its prey, and its bite can sever a finger. Having a black shell, the creature blends into the rocky bottom of rivers and is not so easy to notice either by predators or its prey. But don't worry, they are quite rare.

Astacopsis gouldi are long-lived. Tasmanian crayfish can be up to 40 years old. In addition, these individuals have a very long reproductive process. In males reproductive age occurs at approximately 9 years of age, and even later for women - at 14 years of age. By the way, male crayfish, as a rule, start a “harem” of several females. Well, breeding of offspring happens only once every two years. Females lay eggs on their abdominal legs in the fall. And the juveniles, whose length does not exceed 6 millimeters, hatch only next summer.

It is not surprising that the largest crayfish in the world are on the verge of extinction. This happened due to active rural economic activity humans (as a result of which the quality of water in rivers is rapidly declining and crayfish are losing part of their habitats because of this) and excessive fishing from rivers.

But this photo often appears on the Internet along with Tasmanian crayfish, but in fact it is palm thief or Coconut Crab:

By the way, this type of crayfish has already been recognized as rare and in Australia they even passed a law that prohibits the fishing of Astacopsis gouldi without special permission. Well, violators will be punished with rubles. The fine reaches 10 thousand dollars. By the way, the name of the crayfish species was given in honor of a naturalist from Australia named John Gould.

Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animals
Type: Arthropods
Subtype: Crustaceans
Class: Higher crayfish
Squad: Decapod crustaceans
Family: Parastacidae
Genus: Astacopsis
View: Astacopsis gouldi (lat. Astacopsis gouldi (Clark, 1936))

Giant crayfish

The largest crayfish in the world live in the rivers of the southern hemisphere of our planet. Giant crayfish literally amaze with their size, but hunting them is prohibited and it is almost impossible to see them in nature.

At the beginning of the second half of the last century, crayfish up to fifteen centimeters in length were found in the rivers of the USSR. Today's crayfish barely reach ten centimeters, and their habitats have shrunk significantly. The fact is that these arthropods love clean water Unfortunately, pollution of the sources has affected the size of crayfish living in the Southern Hemisphere of the earth.

Crayfish on the island of Tasmania

The large crayfish Astacopsis gouldi lives on the island of Tasmania. IN old times their length reached eighty centimeters, and their weight reached five kilograms, seven hundred and forty grams, and the current largest individuals are sixty centimeters long, weighing no more than three kilograms. By appearance The giant is similar to our crayfish, but the appearance of its working claw is more terrifying. The color of the shell is usual, from marsh brown to blue-green, but sometimes even blue crayfish are found. Astacopsis, like all its relatives, plays the role of a river orderly, eating decaying wood and foliage, although its main food is small fish and invertebrates. The giant loves clean, oxygenated water and lives in rivers flowing to the north. Crayfish live up to forty years, breed once every two years, puberty in males it occurs at nine years of age, and in females at fourteen years of age. In autumn, the female lays eggs on the legs of her abdomen, the young are born only in summer next year. Each male has his own territory and harem, which he zealously protects from the encroachments of rivals. The giants have few natural enemies; these are the water rat, the platypus, and the large fish Gadopsis marmoratus. Astacopsis meat is healthy, dietary and very tasty; it is considered an exquisite delicacy, but unfortunately, it is not sold in our country. Since one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight, the catch of crayfish has been limited by law. To hunt a giant, you must have a special permit; violators are punishable by a fine of ten thousand dollars.

Australian red claw crayfish

The Australian red-clawed crayfish lives in freshwater bodies of New Guinea and Australia. This beauty can be found even in the smallest and shallowest rivers and puddles, as long as there is an opportunity to dig a deeper hole. The largest individuals reach twenty centimeters in length and weigh up to five hundred grams. In soft water, the color of the crayfish is very modest, from dark brown to black with a blue tint. But in hard waters, its shell turns bright blue with a yellow dot, along the joints there are stripes of blue, pink, orange or red. In males with outside The claw has a projection that can be white, pink, but mostly bright red, which is why it got the name red claw. The crayfish feeds on snails, worms, and small fish and lives for about five years. It thrives in aquariums and even reproduces; it easily tolerates temperature changes and not very clean housing, but the water must be saturated with oxygen.

The yabby crab also lives in Australia; like the red-claw, it is unpretentious to conditions and place of residence, and has the same size and weight. Yabby bright of blue color, he has a very elegant, sophisticated “figure” and huge claws. During drought, it burrows deep into the ground and can for a long time be in hibernation. In many countries around the world, this crayfish is bred on farms, but because of its beauty, it often ends up not on restaurant tables, but in zoological stores. Yabby lives and breeds well in an aquarium, loves all kinds of secluded places, and digs holes.

The largest in the world freshwater crayfish Astacopsis gouldi lives on the Australian island of Tasmania, its length reaches sixty centimeters and its weight is from two to three kilograms.

Surely many of you love to eat crayfish, but probably few have seen specimens larger than 5-10 centimeters. Tasmania's rivers contain some of the largest freshwater invertebrates in the world. Their average size is 50 cm and weighs 3-4 kg. I suggest you learn more about them.

What do the biggest crayfish eat? The largest crayfish in the world feed on everything that is found in bodies of water. These are decaying leaves and wood, fish, as well as aquatic invertebrates. Arthropods avoid the platypus, large fish and water rats. All of them are natural enemies of the Tasmanian crayfish. This animal lies and waits to capture its prey, and its bite can sever a finger. Having a black shell, the creature blends into the rocky bottom of rivers and is not so easy to notice either by predators or its prey. But don't worry, they are quite rare.

Astacopsis gouldi are long-lived. The age of Tasmanian crayfish can reach 40 years. In addition, these individuals have a very long reproductive process. In males, reproductive age occurs at approximately 9 years, in females even later - at 14 years. By the way, male crayfish, as a rule, start a “harem” of several females. Well, breeding of offspring happens only once every two years. Females lay eggs on their abdominal legs in the fall. And the juveniles, whose length does not exceed 6 millimeters, hatch only next summer.

It is not surprising that the largest crayfish in the world are on the verge of extinction. This happened due to intensive human agricultural activity (as a result of which the quality of water in rivers is rapidly decreasing and crayfish are losing part of their habitats because of this) and excessive fishing from rivers.

Of course, many of you love to eat crayfish, but few have seen individuals larger than 7-12 centimeters. The rivers of Tasmania contain the most large crayfish in the world. Their average value reaches 50 cm with a weight of 3-4 kg.

What do Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish eat? These giants eat everything that can be found in bodies of water. These are foliage and decaying wood, algae, fish, as well as simple invertebrates. Astacopsis gouldi or Tasmanian crayfish stay away from the platypus, water rats and large fish, in other words, they avoid their own natural enemies. By the way, Tasmanian crayfish were named after the Australian naturalist John Gould.

The Tasmanian giant freshwater lobster, as it is sometimes called, can lie for a long time and wait for its prey, it can even tear off a person’s finger. Possessing a black shell, the animal blends into one with the rocky bottom of rivers and is not easy to detect for both predators and its prey.

tasmanian crayfish- centenarians average duration life reaches up to 40 years. In addition, they have a very long reproductive process. In males, reproduction occurs at 9 years old, and in females - at 14. By the way, male crayfish, for the most part, have a “harem” of several females, who give birth only once every two years. In autumn, females lay eggs on their abdominal legs, and the young, which are no more than 6 millimeters long, are born only the following summer.

It's no surprise that the world's largest crayfish are protected because they are critically endangered. The law prohibits the fishing of Tasmanian crayfish. Without a special permit - a fine of 10 thousand dollars.

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