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Project Noah Nature School
Procambarus clarkii
Large 5-9" crawfish, found on land near swamps, red in appearance. Spiney.
These crawfish very closely resemble the sometimes invasive Red-Swamp Crawfish. Wikipedia says they were introduced in Washington state when they were first used as bait for fishing. I know this particular variey is widely dispersed throughout the central valley, as we have also spotted them in the Sacramento river.
Pictures are of two different subjects
wetlands in central valley
He seems to be saying: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!"
We were almost shocked to find a good sized crawfish this morning, on the trail. Took a few quick pics and put him closer to the water, chalking it up to being dropped by a bird possibly. Low (pun intended) and behold we come across almost a dozen more on our hike, all apparently foraging, and all on the trail. This might be commonplace but not something we are used to on the east coast. Whats even better (or worse) I also spotted some strange muddy burrows along the reeds as we walked through Colusa National Wildlife Sanctuary, for some reason I didn't take a picture. But if you look at the wikipedia page attached to this spotting you will see what they look like. Mystery solved! Crawfish burrows.
Spotted on Jul 23, 2011
Submitted on Jul 23, 2011
1 Comment
They are funny to find while hiking. I've seen them off the trail for foraging and because birds dropped them. Such bright colors. Here's my spotting of one from Orange County, CA. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/636...