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Comparative morphology of the common crayfish.

Crayfish, sometimes called crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs, yabbies, or spoondogs, are fresh-water crustaceans ( decapoda) resembling small lobsters, to which they are closely related. They have five pairs of legs with the front pair having a set of claws. They are found in most bodies of fresh water that do not freeze to the bottom, and which have shelter against predators. Some crayfish have been found living as much as 3 m (10 feet) underground. The term is also applied to certain marine species which are more closely allied to the lobsters than to true crayfish. In some countries, such as New Zealand, the term crayfish is used only for salt-water rock lobsters.

1 External Anatomy

• Crayfish have what is called a " cephalothorax " which consists of both the head and thorax, this structure is then covered by a hard shell called the carapace. The head is made of five parts, each part containing a pair of legs, better known as appendages(antennea, antennules, mandibles, and first and second maxillae). The first three segments of the thorax have been joined with the head and their appendages have been modified to aid in food consumption (Gilbertson, 1999)

Externally the crayfish has antennules and antennae. There are two maxilla and three maxillapeds. The first maxilla is for crushing and storing food, the second maxilla allows for water to wash through. The three maxillapeds are all used for the carrying and handling of food. Crayfish have uropods and a telson which aid in it swimming. The so called swimmerets on the outer body cavity depict whether or not the crayfish is a male or female. If the first two swimmerets are abnormally large then the crayfish is a male. If the swimmerets are of uniform size then the crayfish is a female. The crayfish has a cheliped which it uses for grasping and the handling of food.

In the United States, Cambarus is a common genus of crayfish east of the Rocky Mountains, while Pacifastacus is more common to the west. Zarigani are crayfish indigenous to Japanese rivers and ponds and are grayish in color.

Australian crayfish are (mostly?) of the genus Cherax; and include the Marron (Cherax tenuimanus), Red Claw Crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus), Yabby (Cherax destructor) and Western Yabby (Cherax preissii). The world's largest crayfish, Astacopsis gouldi, is found in the rivers of northern Tasmania. It can reach a weight of 4 kg.

2 Crayfish as a dish

Crayfish are eaten in Europe, but they are perhaps most popular in Louisiana, where the standard culinary term is crawfish. They are also served in various Cajun dishes in restaurants around the United States. They are usually prepared like lobster, except many more are put into each pot to boil. For use as a main dish, they are often supplemented by items such as potatos, sausage, corn, onions and garlic bulbs cooked in the same boil, which is heavily spiced with cayenne pepper and other spices. The crawfish may also be fried or blackened. There are also specific preparations for crawfish in Cajun and Creole food, the best-known of which are crawfish étouffée, crawfish pie, and crawfish beignets.

Crayfish is a popular dish in SwedenThe Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige in Swedish) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf and FinlandSuomen TasavaltaRepubliken Finland ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National motto: None Official languages Finnish and Swedish Capital Helsinki President Tarja Halonen Prime minister Matti Vanhanen Area Total % water Ranked 64th 337,030 km² 9. 4% Population Tot, and is by tradition primarily consumed during the fishing season in AugustSee August (album) for the album by Eric Clapton. August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days. Named in honor of Augustus Caesar. The month reputedly has 31 days because Augustus wanted as many days as Julius Caesar's Ju. The boil is typically flavored with salt, sugar and dill. The catch of domestic fresh water crayfish, and even of an implanted American species is very limited and to satisfy demand the majority of what is consumed has to be imported. Sales depended on imports from TurkeyTurkey (officially the Republic of Turkey Turkish Turkiye is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the for several decades, but after a decline in supply ChinaThis article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). China ( Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: Zhongguo, Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) is a country in continental East Asia with some oute and the United States are today the biggest sources of import. On the Western Coast of Sweden , many tend to prefer the larger salt water crayfish, which is caught in the North SeaThe North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. A bay of the North Sea is Skagerrak, bet.

See also: Swedish cuisine, Comparative morphology of the common crayfish