← All species

Signal crayfish

Pacifastacus leniusculus

Biological group : Crustacean

Subgroup : Crayfish

Family : Astacidae

Class : Malacostraca

Order : Decapoda

Environment : Freshwater

Native range : North America

Description

Crustacé décapode d’eau douce originaire d’Amérique du Nord. Son statut réglementaire doit être déterminé par juridiction.

Biology and behaviour

Habitat

Signal crayfish occupy a wide variety of freshwater habitats, from small streams to large rivers, lakes and reservoirs. They use stones, boulders, vegetation, roots and burrows as shelter.

Behaviour

They are mainly nocturnal and leave shelter to forage. They are highly adaptable, may excavate riverbanks and can also move over land for short distances under suitable conditions.

Diet

They are omnivorous. Their diet includes plant detritus, algae, macrophytes, insect larvae, other invertebrates, fish eggs, small fish and occasionally other crayfish.

Reproduction

Mating takes place mainly in autumn. Females carry the eggs beneath the abdomen through winter, with hatching generally occurring in spring or early summer depending on temperature.

Regulations

No verified regulatory rule has yet been published for this species in FLB.

Regulatory information will only be displayed once it has been linked to a specific jurisdiction and verified from an official source.