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Austropotamobius pallipes

(White-clawed Crayfish)

Overview

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Endangered

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

White-clawed Crayfish, Atlantic Stream Crayfish, River Crayfish, White-footed Crayfish

Description

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Habitat

Typically found in a lake at a mean distance from sea level of 129 meters (424 feet).[1]

Ecology: This is a freshwater species which can be found under submerged cobbles , rocks, logs , tree roots , and amongst fallen leaves in permanent water bodies such as canals, streams , rivers , lakes , reservoirs and water-filled quarries (Holdich 2003). Recently it has been found that A. pallipes can tolerate muddy habitats if tree roots or other woody habitats are available (Holdich et al. 2006). Vertical banks and overhanging vegetation have been highlighted as important features in determining crayfish abundance (Naura and Robinson 1998). It may also be found in large numbers in waters dominated by Chara sp. (Souty-Grosset et al. 2006). This species is intolerant to pollution and hydrological change. Waters containing this species tend to be in the pH range 7-9, with calcium levels above 5 mg l-1. This species occurs in areas with relatively hard, mineral-rich waters on calcareous and rapidly weathering rocks. A study from Western France (Trouilhé et al. 2008) found the site harbouring the largest A. pallipes population had a dissolved oxygen concentration as low as 4.93 mg/L, while water temperature rose above 20°C for several consecutive days during summer. Nitrate concentrations were always found to be above 30mg/L. Principal component analyses (PCA ) suggested that an increase of organic matter was a discriminant factor for the presence or absence of this species (Trouilhé et al. 2008).

It can live for more than 10 years, and usually reaches sexual maturity after three to four years. It will carry 20-160 eggs , but usually less than 100 (Holdich 2003).

Declines in this keystone species are said to negatively impact both ecosystem structure and function within freshwater environments through loss of: a) provisioning services – food production from fisheries, recreational fishing , b ) regulatory and support services – trophic cascades , water purification, nutrient cycling, primary productivity, c) cultural value – recreational fishing, education, heritage. Crayfish are also an important food source to a range of species including otters , salmonids , and birds such as kingfishers (Kettunen and ten Brink 2006).[2].

List of Habitats:

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Astacus pallipes • Atlantoastacus orientalis • Atlantoastacus orientalis carinthiacus • Atlantoastacus pallipes rhodanicus • Austropotamobius (Atlanoastacus) pallipes lusitanicus • Austropotamobius (Atlantoastacus) berndhauseri

Notes

 

Some consider Austropotamobius pallipes as a species complex comprised of two genetically distinct species; A. pallipes and an Italian species for which the name is being discussed. The Italian species is thought to be comprised of a number of subspecies , though this depends on the author . Both the Italian form and A. pallipes can be found in Spain, France, Italy and Switzerland. It is also suggested that there are two subspecies of A. pallipes: A. pallipes pallipes which exists in France, the British Isles, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany, and A. p. subsp. nov. which is known from Liguria in Italy and the Alpes Maritimes region of France. There still exists some debate as to whether the Italian form should be raised to species level, though recent genetic work (Grandjean et al. 2000a, Fratini et al. 2005, Bertocchi et al. 2008) would support a separate species, Austropotamobius italicus with 4 subspecies.

[2].

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Austropotamobius

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species and subspecies in this genus:

A. pallipes (White-Clawed Crayfish) · A. torrentium (Stone Crayfish)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 02, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Standard Deviation = 149.890 based on 7,657 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
  2. Füreder, L., Gherardi, F., Holdich, D., Reynolds, J., Sibley, P. & Souty-Grosset, C. 2010. Austropotamobius pallipes. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 January 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 2012-07-14