Eye Long Antennae Antennae

Leg legPincer

Swimmerets Swimmeret

Tail Fan Fan

What is the function of swimmerets?

One of the paired abdominal appendages of certain aquatic crustaceans, such as shrimp, lobsters, and isopods, that function primarily for carrying the eggs in females and are usually adapted for swimming. Also called pleopod.

What is the function of bristles?Are the short hairs on the crayfish that helps

them sense things in there environment

All About Crayfish!!!!!Crayfish are invertebrates. That means they don't have bones,

but they do have an exoskeleton to protect their inner body parts.

The crayfish have jointed legs to walk and pick up food. Crayfish have antennae to use senses like feeling, tasting, and

smelling. They have a bumpy, not smooth outer layer. Some crayfish are as small as a thumbtack, while others can be

as long as cats. Crayfish are born as eggs, which hold on to their mother's

bristles. When the young are born most of them do not survive, however the ones that do survive usually don't live a long life. The eggs are called instars. To tell if a crayfish is a male or a female look at their bristles. If they have a tiny black dot by their bristles than they are a female. If they don't, they are a male.

More about CrayfishCrayfish like to stay under rocks or logs. Crayfish are most active at

night. Adult crayfish (one year old) are more active at night than young crayfish. Sometimes young crayfish are active during the day.

Crayfish movement is usually a slow walk but if scared they move quickly by flipping their tail to swim backward and escape danger. Crayfish predators in the wild include alligators, burbots, chicken turtle and painted turtle, desman, and grackle.

Crayfish, also called crawfish or crawdad, are closely related to the lobster. More than half of the more than 500 species occur in North America, particularly Kentucky (Mammoth Cave) and Louisiana in the Mississippi basin. Crayfish also live in Europe, New Zealand, East Asia and throughout the world, including the Tristan da Cunha Islands. Nearly all live in freshwater, although a few survive in salt water.

Crayfish are characterized by a joined head and thorax, or midsection, and a segmented body, which is sandy yellow, green, or dark brown in color. The head has a sharp snout, and the eyes are on movable stalks. Crayfish are usually about 7.5 cm (3 inches) long.

Crayfish Behavior, predators, short lives!Crayfish, common in streams and lakes, often conceal

themselves under rocks or logs. They are most active at night, when they feed largely on snails, algae, insect larvae, worms, and tadpoles; some eat vegetation (various water plants). A dead fish worms, corn, and salmon eggs are also favorites of the crayfish.

Studies show that adults (one year old) become most active at dusk and continue heavy feeding activity until daybreak. Young crayfish are more likely to be the ones out during bright sunny days, while the older crayfish are more active on cloudy days and during the night.

General movement is always a slow walk, but if startled, crayfish use rapid flips of their tail to swim backwards and escape danger.

Crayfish Behavior, predators, short lives continued!

Most crayfish live short lives, usually less than two years. Therefore, rapid, high-volume reproduction is important for the continuation of the species. Many crayfish become sexually mature and mate in the October or November after they're born, but fertilization and egg laying usually occur the following spring. The fertilized eggs are attached to the female' swimmerets on the underside of her jointed abdomen. There the 10 to 800 eggs change from dark to translucent as they develop. The egg-carrying female is said to be "in berry," because the egg mass looks something like a berry. Females are often seen "in berry" during May or June. The eggs hatch in 2 to 20 weeks, depending on water temperature. The newly-hatched crayfish stay attached to their mother until shortly after their second molt.

The natural predators of the Crayfish include alligators, burbots (a type of cod), chicken turtle, painted turtle, desman (a type of otter), grackle (a type of a bird).

How to tell female from maleCrayfish are sometimes referred to as

crawdads or crawfish. Like other crustaceans, they possess hard outer shells and claws that protect them from predators. Female and male crustaceans have differences in a few areas, such as size, but in almost every other aspect they are similar. The number of crayfish species is considerably large, and they vary in size.

Inside of crayfish.In the open circulatory system blood flows from the heart through the arteries and returns into open sinuses. The digestive system has a stomach for grinding food and a gland for chemical processing. The antennal gland is the main excretory organ.

What crayfish eat!Crayfish are omnivorous...like most shrimp and

lobsters. That means they will eat almost anything. Crayfish eat fish, shrimp, water plants, worms, insects, snails, plankton, and more. They will also eat dead plants and animals. They hold their food with their claws. The amount of food they eat affects how often they molt. When they molt they need to eat their shell to give them calcium. If you can, try to feed your crayfish a water plant called elodea. Leave the elodea in its tank. You can also feed them cat food and hot dogs.

Do pincers hurt when they strike?

What are 4 things the crayfish need in there habitat!!!WaterFood Shelterair

Facts About Crabs/CrayfishCrab is an invertebrate that belongs to the

crustacean family. There are over 4500 species of crabs and most of them live in the coastal areas of salty, fresh or brackish water (mix of fresh and salty water).

Besides aquatic species, some crabs are semi-terrestrial or terrestrial (they live on the land). They inhabit sandy areas with stones and rocks. Crabs are very old creatures. They appeared on the Earth during Jurassic period, 200 million years ago.

Certain species of crabs are endangered because of the habitat loss and due to intensive hunt. 1½ million tons of crabs are cooked alive each year. Latest analysis showed that crabs feel the pain during that process.

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More Facts about CrabsCrabs greatly vary in size. Smallest species, Pea Crab, reaches

from 0.27 to 0.47 inches in length. Largest species, Japanese Spider Crab, has a leg span of 12 feet (from claw to claw). Crabs are also known as decapods because they have 10 legs. First pair of legs is modified into claws, called chelae.

Crabs have external skeleton called "exoskeleton". It is made of chitin and it provides protection for the soft tissue underneath it. Other name for exoskeleton is shell or carapace. Just like other Arthropods,

Females can be distinguished from males by the shape of the abdomen and the flap on their bellies. Female has wide abdomen and flap shaped like a dome. Male has narrow abdomen and flap shaped like obelisk.

Crabs have eyes on the stalks, just like snails. They can distinguish colors, but their eyes see a lot less details than human eyes

More Facts about Crabs. Crabs are omnivores (they eat both meat and plants). They eat

different kind of algae, fungi, bacteria, other crustaceans, mollusks and worms.

Crabs walk and swim sideways. Crabs breathe with the help of gills. That is why they need to stay close

to the water even if they live mainly on the land. Some species of crabs are solitary, while other live in the group.

Collective name for the group of crabs is "cast". Crabs which live in the group are very cooperative. They work together to provide food and protection for their families.

Crabs communicate via sound. They produce drumming and flapping sounds by using their claws and pincers.

Most crabs mate when the outer temperature and the temperature of water is high. Male waves with its swimming paddles, as a part of the seduction ritual prior to mating. Pregnancy lasts one to two weeks and female deposits between 1000 and 2000 eggs. Average lifespan of the crab is between 3 and 4 years.

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When blue crabs grow, their outer shell--the exoskeleton--doesn't grow with them, so crabs must regularly shed these shells in order to increase in size. This process is known as molting.

The blue crabs scientific name is Callinectes Supidus.

Crabs molt about 27 times throughout their lives. Young crabs molt very frequently--a zoea molts seven times with only a few days between each molt.

After shedding its old shell, the crab first expands its new shell by pumping water into its body. After that, it takes about 72 hours (three days) for the soft shell to harden.

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