| Pontastacus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pontastacus leptodactylus (museum specimen) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Astacidea |
| Superfamily: | Astacoidea |
| Family: | Astacidae |
| Genus: | Pontastacus Bott, 1950 |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Pontastacus is a genus of freshwater crayfish native to eastern Europe and western Asia, but also introduced elsewhere.
Pontastacus belongs to the family Astacidae, one of the three families of Northern Hemisphere freshwater crayfish within the superfamily Astacoidea. The internal phylogeny of Astacidae can be shown in the cladogram below: [1]
| Astacidae |
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Nine species are recognized: [1]
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper and Don. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.
The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania, with a small part in Ukraine. Its approximate surface area is 4,152 square kilometres, of which 3,446 km2 (1,331 sq mi) is in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim–Sinoe, located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta is 5,165 km2 (1,994 sq mi). The Razim–Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper; the combined territory is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Astacus is a genus of crayfish found in Europe, comprising three extant (living) species and three extinct fossil species.
Pontastacus leptodactylus, the Danube crayfish, Galician crayfish, Turkish crayfish or narrow-clawed crayfish, is a relatively large and economically important species of crayfish native to fresh and brackish waters in eastern Europe and western Asia, mainly in the Pontic–Caspian region, among others including the basins of the Black Sea, and the Danube, Dnieper, Don and Volga rivers, as well as aquatic systems in Turkey. It has spread widely beyond its native range, beginning in the 1700s when it spread via canals constructed in western Russia and since the 1900s through introducions to many regions for human consumption. Today it is widespread throughout much of Europe.
Pontastacus pachypus, the Caspian crayfish is a species of crayfish found in the Caspian Sea, the Don river, and parts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, where it lives in salinities of up to 14‰. It is listed as Data Deficient in the IUCN Red List.
Astacidae is a family of freshwater crayfish native to Europe, western Asia and western North America. The family is made up of four extant (living) genera: The genera Astacus, Pontastacus, and Austropotamobius are all found throughout Europe and parts of western Asia, while Pacifastacus is native to western United States and British Columbia, but has also been introduced elsewhere.
The Cambaridae are the largest of the four families of freshwater crayfish, with over 400 species. Most of the species in the family are native the United States east of the Great Divide and Mexico, but fewer range north to Canada, and south to Guatemala and Honduras. Three live on the island of Cuba. The species in the genus Cambaroides are the only found outside North America, as they are restricted to eastern Asia.
The fauna of Europe is all the animals living in Europe and its surrounding seas and islands. Europe is the western part of the Palearctic realm. Lying within the temperate region, the wildlife is not as rich as in the hottest regions, but is nevertheless diverse due to the variety of habitats and the faunal richness of Eurasia as a whole.
Lithoglyphus naticoides, the gravel snail, is a species of small or minute freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Lithoglyphidae.
The Danube bleak or Caspian shemaya is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Iran, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Slovakia, Moldova, Greece, Czechia, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Afghanistan, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The racer goby is a species of goby native to fresh, sometimes brackish, waters, of the Black Sea basin. It is a Ponto-Caspian relict species. The species is placed a monotypic genus, Babka, which was once considered a subgenus of genus Neogobius, but was then elevated to genus-status based on the molecular analysis.
Ponticola kessleri, the bighead goby or Kessler's goby, is a species of goby native to Eurasia. The bighead goby is a Ponto-Caspian relict species. It inhabits the fresh and oligohaline waters, with mineralisation from 0-0.5‰ up to 1.5-3.0‰.
Austropotamobius torrentium, also called the stone crayfish, is a European species of freshwater crayfish in the family Astacidae. It is mostly found in tributaries of the Danube, having originated in the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
Austropotamobius is a genus of European crayfish in the family Astacidae. It contains four extant species, and one species known from fossils of Barremian age:
Cambarellus is a genus of small freshwater crayfish in the family Cambaridae. The 19 species are found in Mexico and the Gulf States of the United States. Among the Mexican species, C. areolatus, C. patzcuarensis, and C. prolixus are considered seriously threatened by the IUCN, and C. alvarezi is already extinct. C. chihuahuae was also believed to be extinct until rediscovered in 2012. C. alvarezi and four undescribed, extinct Cambarellus species were restricted to desert spring systems in southwestern Nuevo León; each one shared its habitat with a Cyprinodon pupfish.
The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through much of Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important river, it was once a frontier of the Roman Empire. In the 21st century, it connects ten European countries, running through their territories or marking a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Among the many cities on the river are four national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. Its drainage basin amounts to 817 000 km² and extends into nine more countries.
The western tubenose goby is a species of goby native to fresh waters of the Black Sea and Aegean Sea basins. It has recently spread as an invasive species to Central and Western Europe and to North America. Previously Proterorhinus semilunaris was considered as a junior synonym of Proterorhinus marmoratus, but was confirmed as a distinct species based on molecular analysis.
Potamon ibericum is a Eurasian species of freshwater crab. It is an omnivore that feeds on land, but returns regularly to the water, and can survive short periods of drought in burrows and under stones. Its natural range stretches from north-eastern Greece, around both sides of the Black Sea and to beyond the Caspian Sea; populations have also been introduced to southern France. It is included as a near threatened species on the IUCN Red List, and is included in the Red Data Book for Ukraine.
Kiliia Raion was a raion (district) in Odesa Oblast of Ukraine. It was part of the historical region of Bessarabia. Its administrative center was the city of Kiliia. The small sector of the Danube Delta that lies in Ukraine lied partially in this raion. The raion was abolished and its territory was merged into Izmail Raion on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Odesa Oblast to seven. The last estimate of the raion population was 50,386.
The Kızılırmak Delta is the delta of the Kızılırmak River, 40 km east of Samsun. It is the biggest wetland in the Black Sea Region and is one of several internationally important Ramsar sites in Turkey on account of its rich bird and plant life. There is a bird reserve.