🐟 AquaticCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: High — restricted in many states
White-clawed crayfish
Austropotamobius pallipes
The white-clawed crayfish is Europe's threatened native crayfish, in steep decline largely because of an introduced North American species that carries a deadly fungal plague. It is endangered and protected, with captive-rearing and 'ark site' programs supporting its survival.
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Quick facts
| Size | Freshwater crayfish to ~12 cm, pale undersides to the claws. |
| Lifespan | 8–12 years |
| Native region | Western and central Europe (including the UK and Ireland) |
| Climate | 🍂 Temperate |
| Water type | 💧 Freshwater |
| Genus | Austropotamobius |
Habitat & enclosure
Lives in clean, well-oxygenated rivers, streams, and lakes with stony refuges. The invasive American signal crayfish outcompetes it and spreads crayfish plague, against which the native species has no resistance. It is strictly protected; this profile is conservation/education only, and handling or relocating wild animals is regulated.
Diet
An omnivore feeding on detritus, plants, invertebrates, and carrion in its stream habitat. Clean water and biosecurity against plague are critical to any captive or ark-site management.
Behavior & temperament
Nocturnal and territorial, it shelters by day under stones and in bank refuges. Conservation relies on protecting plague-free 'ark' waters and on strict biosecurity to prevent transfer of the disease from invasive crayfish.
Reviewed and signed off by: KinStation Editorial — conservation profile (pending DVM/biologist review)