Parastacidae

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Parastacidae
Cherax destructor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class: Malacostraca Order: Decapoda Suborder: Pleocyemata Infraorder: Astacidea Superfamily: Parastacoidea Family: Parastacidae Huxley, 1879
Genera
Astacoides Astacopsis Cherax Engaeus Engaewa Euastacus Geocherax Gramastacus Paranephrops Parastacoides Parastacus Samastacus Tenuibranchiurus Virilastacus

Parastacidae is the family of freshwater crayfish found in the southern hemisphere. The family is a classic Gondwana-distributed taxon, with extant members in South America, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea, and extinct taxa also in Antarctica.

Three genera are to be found in Chile, Virilastacus, Samastacus and Parastacus, the last of which also occurs disjunctly in southern Brazil.

There are no crayfish native to continental Africa, but six species on Madagascar, all of the genus Astacoides.

Australasia is particularly rich in crayfish. The small genus Paranephrops is endemic to New Zealand (Huxley claims that Paranephrops also occurs in Fiji ^[2]). Two genera, Astacopsis and Parastacoides are endemic to Tasmania, while a further two are found on either side of the Bass Strait - Geocharax and Engaeus. The greatest diversity, however, is found on the Australian mainland. Three genera are endemic and have restricted distributions (Engaewa, Gramastacus and Tenuibranchiurus), while two are more widespread and contain nearly ninety species between them: Euastacus, around the Australian coast from Melbourne to Brisbane, and Cherax across Australia and New Guinea.

[edit] References

1. ^ Fetzner, J W, Jr (2005). The crayfish and lobster taxonomy browser: A global taxonomic resource for freshwater crayfish and their closest relatives. Retrieved on 27 March 2006.
2. ^ T. H. Huxley (1879). The Crayfish.