Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some species are found in brooks and streams, where fresh water is running, while others thrive in swamps, ditches, and paddy fields. Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some species, such as Procambarus clarkii, are hardier. Crayfish feed on animals and plants, either living or decomposing, and detritus.
Cambarus is a large and diverse genus of crayfish from the United States and Canada. The adults range in size from about 5 cm (2.0 in) up to approximately 15 cm (5.9 in).
The Parastacidae are the family of freshwater crayfish found in the Southern Hemisphere. The family is a classic Gondwana-distributed taxon, with extant members in South America, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, and extinct taxa also in Antarctica.
Cherax, commonly known as yabby/yabbies in Australia, is the most widespread genus of fully aquatic crayfish in the Southern Hemisphere. Various species of cherax may be found in both still and flowing bodies of freshwater across most of Australia and New Guinea. Together with Euastacus, it is also the largest crayfish genus in the Southern Hemisphere.
Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans, and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This article lists species classified as threatened species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish, also called Tasmanian giant freshwater lobster, is the largest freshwater invertebrate and the largest freshwater crayfish species in the world. The species is only found in the rivers below 400 metres (1,300 ft) above sea level in northern Tasmania, an island-state of Australia. It is listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List due to overfishing and habitat degradation, and it has been prohibited to catch the crayfish since 1998.
The Clarke Island, also known by its Indigenous name of lungtalanana, part of the Furneaux Group, is an 82-square-kilometre (32 sq mi) island in Bass Strait, south of Cape Barren Island, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) off the northeast coast of Tasmania, Australia. Banks Strait separates the island from Cape Portland on the mainland. Clarke Island is the third-largest island in the Furneaux Group, and Tasmania's eighth largest island.
Euastacus is a genus of freshwater crayfish known as "spiny crayfish". They are found in the south-east of the Australian mainland, along with another genus of crayfish, Cherax. Both genera are members of the family Parastacidae, a family of freshwater crayfish restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.
Beddomeia waterhouseae, also known as Claytons Rivulet freshwater snail, is a species of freshwater snail in the family Tateidae. This species is endemic to northern Tasmania in Australia. The holotype specimen was found in a very small tributary of Little Clayton's Rivulet and is held at the Australian Museum. B. waterhouseae is small and as an adult has a shell measuring between 1.7 to 3.7 mm in length. The shell shape is ovate-conic to broadly conic and has a thin inner lip and no columellar bulge. This species feeds on algae and detritus on rocks. The female of the species lay single eggs in capsules made of sand grains and attached to the underside of rocks or wood. B. waterhouseae is considered vulnerable by the IUCN as it has a very small range and is sensitive to water quality and so may be threatened by disturbances of its habitat. Other threats include habitat loss. Conservation activities such as assessment of the aquatic ecosystem and vegetal surveys are being undertaken in an attempt to preserve this species.
Engaeus martigener, the Furneaux burrowing crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Parastacidae, endemic to Australia.
Engaeus spinicaudatus, the Scottsdale burrowing crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Parastacidae. This species is only found in Tasmania, Australia. It is a medium-size burrowing crayfish with an adult carapace length of about 25 millimeters. It usually brown or purplish in color. The species is primarily found in wet buttongrass and healthy plains, but also occurs in surface seepages, floodplains of creeks and wet areas converted to pasture.
The Dandenong Burrowing Crayfish(Engaeus urostrictus) is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family. As its common name suggests, the Dandenong Burrowing Crayfish is found in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, Australia.
The Great Dog Island, also known as Big Dog Island, and part of the Great Dog Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 354-hectare (870-acre) granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying south of the Flinders Island and north of the Cape Barren Island, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia.
Charles Gould was the first geological surveyor of Tasmania 1859–69.
Gahnia grandis is a tussock-forming perennial plant found in southeastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Engaeus yabbimunna, the Burnie burrowing crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Parastacidae. It is endemic to Australia.
Astacopsis is a genus of crayfish endemic to the island of Tasmania. There are three extant species, Astacopsis gouldi, Astacopsis franklinii, and Astacopsis tricornis. All are threatened by illegal harvesting, and A. gouldi is protected by law. A. franklinii is found in the eastern half of the island, with A. tricornis taking its place in the west. A. gouldi is found only in rivers draining into the Bass Strait, except for the Tamar River.
Furneaux is an interim Australian bioregion that comprises the Furneaux Group, consisting of over one hundred islands off the northeast coast of Tasmania, as well as the northeast corner of Tasmania and Wilson's Promontory on the Australian mainland. It spans an area of 537,543 hectares.
