Astacopsis gouldi
| Astacopsis gouldi | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Astacopsis gouldi |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Astacopsis gouldi | ||||||||||||
| Clark , 1936 |
Astacopsis gouldi , also called Tayatea by the locals, is acancer nativeto Tasmania . Due to its size of up to 80 centimeters and a weight of up to 5 kilograms, it is considered the largest freshwater crab on earth.
features
The animals are dark brown to greenish black; sometimes completely blue specimens have also been observed, and they have relatively large claws. Your body is flattened dorso-ventrally. Your back legs, which are used for swimming, are longer than the front ones. Females also often carry the eggs on them. The species grows slowly and has a relatively low fertility rate. It is believed that these crabs can live to be over 30 years old, with the females only reaching sexual maturity after 14 years and the males only after 7–9 years. The females only breed every 2 years. Mating and spawning take place in autumn, with the number of eggs fluctuating between 225 and 1300, depending on the size of the mother. The young are carried by the mother until late summer.
nutrition
Rivers and streams with deep water holes and washed-out banks form the perfect habitat for this species, which omnivorously feeds mainly on detritus and rotting wood and bacteria, but also likes flies and smaller fish on its menu.
Occurrence
Astacopsis gouldi is endemic to northern and northwestern Tasmania in rivers and streams, especially those that flow into the Bass Straight .
The ideal living space is provided by clean and, if possible, cold and oxygen-rich rivers and streams, the water of which is clear to tea-brown. The substrate is usually not very rich in sediment . Older animals like to live in deeper sections, where they hang out under aquatic plants. Juvenile animals are also often found in shallow, fast-flowing streams. There they like to live under rubble or near fallen tree trunks that have fallen into the water. The water temperature of the natural habitats is between 8 and 21 ° C, with the animals coping best with temperatures of around 18 ° C. Ideally, the body of water should run through dense forest and the bank should be overgrown, as the crab prefers shady places.
Protection programs
Among other things because of overfishing, their slow growth, the low rate of reproduction and not least because of the increasing transformation of the usual flora, these animals are endangered and have been placed under protection by the Australian and Tasmanian governments.
The IUCN classifies Astacopsis gouldi as critically endangered.
