Wait a minute, that’s no fish! 🦞 Day 6 brings the first Grinch of this year’s #25DaysofFishmas + a #Crustmas crossover: one Sandy Claws you don’t want coming to town. The Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), AKA Marmorkrebs, is an invasive species that’s been knocking on the #GreatLakes door - ThreadSky

drkatfish.bsky.social • 88 days ago

Wait a minute, that’s no fish! 🦞

Day 6 brings the first Grinch of this year’s #25DaysofFishmas + a #Crustmas crossover: one Sandy Claws you don’t want coming to town. The Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), AKA Marmorkrebs, is an invasive species that’s been knocking on the #GreatLakes door

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darterdancer.bsky.social•87 days ago

malleefowl.bsky.social•87 days ago

Yep. They’re taking over Germany

jehremy.bsky.social•88 days ago

These are so great! Enjoyed the crossover!

drkatfish.bsky.social•88 days ago

Marbled crayfish - a freshwater crustacean, not a fish - originated in the pet trade + has no naturally occurring populations in the wild. It's actually a mutation of the slough crayfish (Procambarus fallax, native to Florida/Georgia) that was first found in Germany in the mid-1990s #25DaysofFishmas

drkatfish.bsky.social•88 days ago

Since being discovered in the 1990s, marbled crayfish have been introduced to several countries in Europe, as well as in Japan and Madagascar. While not established in the #GreatLakes yet, a marbled crayfish was found in 2021 in Burlington, Ontario only a few miles from Lake Ontario #25DaysofFishmas

drkatfish.bsky.social•88 days ago

No males, no problems: The marbled crayfish is one of a handful of crustaceans that reproduces by parthenogenesis, a type of asexual reproduction without males. As a result, every single marbled crayfish is a female and clone of her mother #25DaysofFishmas #Crustmas

drkatfish.bsky.social•88 days ago

The ability for a single marbled crayfish to reproduce without needing a mate + the fact that they can produce up to 700 cloned offspring in a single reproductive cycle + their popularity in the pet trade = reason for concern that they could become invasive in the #GreatLakes region #25DaysofFishmas

ricciardilab.bsky.social•88 days ago

How would an invasive population of marble crayfish perform in the lower Great Lakes as the climate warms? 🤔
https://bsky.app/profile/ricciardilab.bsky.social/post/3lchf4ybi2g2k

drkatfish.bsky.social•88 days ago

Marbled crayfish was first found in the wild in North America in Burlington, Ontario. Although the population was formally identified in 2023, the report that led to the finding was created in October 2021, when someone shared a photo on iNaturalist #25DaysofFishmas https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/invasive-marbled-crayfish-burlington-ontario-1.7081893#:~:text=Crayfish%20first%20reported%20in%202021,an%20effort%20to%20identify%20it

drkatfish.bsky.social•88 days ago

The marbled crayfish's distinguishing feature is a marbled (!) coloration pattern that's most visible on its back (called the carapace). In the wild, marbled crayfish are typically olive to brown in color, but those in the pet trade can be red or blue #25DaysofFishmas #Crustmas

sewcharitable.bsky.social•88 days ago

This is so cool!!

vaultedvagabond.bsky.social•88 days ago

I live in michigan and I wonder how these would affect the game fish populations if they hit the great lakes and move through the state. These seem like they would quickly become a favorite of bass.

akw.bsky.social•88 days ago

invasive species eh?

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