Malacostracans · Decapoda · Cambaridae

Red Swamp Crayfish

Procambarus clarkii

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The red swamp crayfish, marsh crayfish or American crayfish is a decapod crustacean of the family Cambaridae. It is a crayfish native to the south-eastern United States, but it can be found on other continents, where it is often an invasive species.

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

FreshwaterOmnivore Solitary Freshwater Crustacean

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Fun facts

GeneralA highly damaging invader in Doñana and the Guadalquivir marshes.
It was introduced into Spain in 1973 and 1974, first at a farm in Badajoz and then in the Guadalquivir marshes, as a commercial resource. From there it invaded practically the whole of Europe.
It is a chronic carrier of the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci, which causes crayfish plague, almost symptomless in American species but lethal to European ones.
That disease is the main cause of the collapse of the native white-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes, and the pathogen is listed among the hundred worst invasive species in the world.
A study of more than fifty diagnosed cases on the Iberian Peninsula confirmed that the pathogen was still active 45 years after the first introductions.
In Iberian rice fields it also causes structural damage by burrowing.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Invertebrate - articulated calcareous exoskeleton (crustacean)
Habitat & environment: Rice fields, marshes, irrigation ditches and wetlands

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procambarus_clarkii