Originally, Edgar Riek described two giant spiny crayfish species, firstly in 1956 E. spinosus from the upper reaches of the Hastings River, New South Wales, then secondly in 1969 E. clydensis, from a side stream of the Clyde River near Brooman, and paratypes from near Conjola, New South Wales. Morgan (1997) revised the taxonomy of (more…)
After 15 years of rigorous research we finally described a new species of yabby. The Swamp Yabby (Cherax latimanus) was formally described and published in the peer-reviewed international journal Zootaxa. Robert McCormack from Australian Aquatic Biological as part of the Australian Crayfish Project (ACP) and Tarmo Raadik from the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, (more…)
Project: 100086 Saving the spinys: urgent actions to conserve the Euastacus freshwater crayfish Spiny crayfish from the Euastacus genus are an inconspicuous casualty of the widespread and enduring bushfires that profoundly impacted Australia over 2019–20. As with other freshwater animals, spiny crayfish were not only directly impacted as the bushfires swept over the landscape but (more…)
Research Project 100007 initiated in 2008 has finally been completed. This project has been ongoing for the last 10 years, but has at last culminated in the publication of a description of a NEW Euastacus species for the western drainage of New South Wales, Australia. The Cudgegong Giant Spiny Crayfish Euastacus vesper is described from (more…)
Project: 100007 started back in 2008 final draws to a closure. The project that started out as an unidentified Euastacus crayfish species has been found in western drainage of NSW has been finalized with the completion of the project going to press. A scientific manuscript title; Euastacus sp. nov., a new giant spiny crayfish (Crustacea, (more…)
Started in 2005 the quest to rediscover the Orbost Spiny Crayfish Euastacus diversus has been a long and intriguing journey cumulating in the publication of this paper. This story began back in 1959 when one of Australia’s foremost expert on freshwater crayfish at that time, Edgar Riek, discovered this small freshwater crayfish species in the east (more…)
Early September 2015 four volunteers on the Australian Crayfish Project (ACP) met at Townsville Queensland for a crayfish research expedition. We met at Cocoa Creek, on Cape Cleveland approximately 17 km east of Townsville. We all got there pretty much together just before sunset. Cocoa Creek is a small muddy deep water creek flowing through (more…)
Between 2005 and 2012 the Australian Crayfish Project (ACP) has been researching an IUCN listed Critically Endangered species Euastacus clarkae. Then in 2013 the ACP received a Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZSCF) grant (Project 12054688) and I am extremely grateful for their generous support. The MBZSCF is a significant philanthropic endowment established to provide (more…)
The ACT Aquatic Team from the ACT Government’s Conservation Planning and Research Unit sent me this photo of a berried Euastacus rieki and I just had to share it with you all. It’s the first female with eggs recorded and a tremendous leap towards filling the huge knowledge gaps on this cryptic species. The Aquatic Team (more…)
We have finally finished our aquatic surveys of the lower Clyde River, NSW. It’s an exciting area with mostly pristine clear flowing streams full of aquatic life. The results of the survey have been extremely interesting and have resulted in some significant findings. We have identified 3 different freshwater crayfish species in the lower Clyde (more…)
A Guide to Australia’s Spiny Freshwater Crayfish wins a coveted Whitley Award. The winners were announced by the Royal Zoological Society of NSW at a ceremony held in the foyer of the Australian Museum in Sydney on Friday 11th of October 2013. The Whitley Awards are for outstanding publications dealing with the promotion and conservation (more…)