White-clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes

White-clawed Crayfish
White-clawed Crayfish
White-clawed Crayfish
The White-clawed Crayfish, also called the Atlantic Stream Crayfish, is native to freshwater streams, rivers, lakes and canals of much of Europe from the UK in the north to the Mediterranean countries in the south. It is grey or olive-brown with offwhite undersides to its claws giving it its common and scientific names. It is a small crayfish growing to some 10cm long.
White-clawed Crayfish
White-clawed Crayfish
White-clawed Crayfish
The White-clawed Crayfish has been wiped out in much of its range and remains endangered, including in the UK, the main threats being introduced invasive crayfish species and water pollution. The introduced foreign species out compete the small Whiteclaw for resources but the worse threat is crayfish plague carried by the American Signal Crayfish which is immune (unless stressed/ill) but the disease is fatal to the Whiteclaw, Britain's only native crayfish, as well as to other European crayfish.