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Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus)
I was surprised when this boy from Britain didn't flinch when he was pinched.
This lobster-like creature is very common in the streams and lakes of the Pacific Northwest. Although its claws are much smaller than it’s saltwater cousin they can still give a nasty pinch!
I took the first picture last summer on one of my nature tours. I had posted it on Flicker and have been surprised to find out how popular the picture was. So, of course, I googled “Signal Crayfish”.
I found out that this crustacean has been introduced to northern Europe because the popular native crayfish was nearly completely killed off by a plague. It’s a kind of water-bourne fungus brought from North America, presumably in the ballast of some ship in the nineteenth century.
The Signal crayfish is immune to the fungal disease. And it not only has out competed the native variety, but it is a carrier of the disease. So as it spreads, it spreads the disease. There are all kinds of articles about it on line. So that’s why this picture is so popular!
Crayfish are quite popular delicacies in northern Europe, and also in places around North America. My Friend Roy lives on a nice property on the banks of the Stamp River. He likes a good feed of them once in a while. In talking to him , he said he had thought he had fished out the crawfish around his place. But some fishermen left some fish guts in the river. A few days later, he found at least 20 feasting on the guts. So they are pretty resilliant to fishing.
mmmmmmmm seafood !