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Crayfish

Orconectes spp.

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45.217, -92.7576

Field Notes

Description:

Crayfish look like small lobsters with a hard carapace, two large claws.

Habitat:

Lakes and some streams. Crayfish do not tolerate high levels of pollutants.

Notes:

This crayfish had latched onto an angler's baited hook and was brought to shore (not hooked, just holding on).

There are about 350 species of crayfish in North America.

Reference Links:

Crayfish

Species ID Suggestions

Crayfish

Astacidae

Reference Link
TrevorStaker
2

Comments (5)
Saint Shrike
I'm glad that you have some idea. Looking up invertebrate critters is very, very hard, specially if your local state and edu resources are focusing on an invasive species. Sure it's great to know what the invasives look like, but it is also good to know what the natives look like so you don't go wontonly killing them too.
Gordon Dietzman
There are five other species, four of which are Orconectes. This may very well be a rusty, but the angler's fingers are covering the part of the carapace that is definitive. It had enormous claws--something the rusty has--compared to other crayfish I've recently seen here in Minnesota.
Saint Shrike
Everytime I look up Minnesota and crayfish... it brings up the Rusty Crayfish. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/rustycrayfish/index.html http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/ais/rustycrayfish_invader Hmm but he doesn't look to rusty... surely there are other species up there.
Photographed
PublishedFebruary 23, 2011

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