crayfish

(also ‘crawfish’, ‘crawdad’ and ‘mud bug’; pronunciation: the letter ‘c’ is said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king” — for the right pronunciation, please click here)

a kind of animal – fresh-water crustacean – related to and looks like a small lobster; soft body covered by jointed exoskeleton (hard outer cover) with different colours; two pairs of antennae, small flat tail; five pairs of legs – first pair developed into pincers which are used for cutting food, making burrows, fighting enemies, and the rest (four pairs) used for slow walking; grows to, on average, 3 inches – the ‘Cajun dwarf crayfish’ only ¾ of an inch and the largest 16 inches long; weight also ranges widely – from a few grams to Tasmanian fresh water crayfish 7 Kg.; feeds on (eats) water plants, small water animals – snails, clams, shrimps, insects, decaying organisms; active at nights; lives for (small kinds) 2-3 years, (large kinds) 6-8 years – some kinds may live up to 20 years; about 540 species found naturally in fresh water streams, rivers, ponds and swamps of the world, except Africa and Antarctica,

Special Features:

(crawfish as food)

Crayfish are an important source of food.

Though the name has ‘fish’ in it, crayfish are not fish; they are crustaceans, e.g. crab, lobster, prawn.

(crayfish holes)

Crayfish are also kept as pets.

If a crayfish’s leg or any other part of the body is broken or cut off or eaten away by its predators, the crayfish can grow it again. [regenerate]

A few species of crayfish live in caves, and they are blind and look pale.

Some species live almost their entire lives in burrows in shallow waters; they dig holes with high mud walls called ‘chimneys’ in which they store water!