Gramastacus

Gramastacus
Gramastacus lacus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Parastacidae
Genus: Gramastacus
Riek, 1972
Species

Gramastacus is a genus of freshwater crayfish species from southeast Australia. It has two described species.

Discovery

Two species of Gramastacus were originally described in 1972 by Edgar Riek from the Grampian region of western Victoria, Australia: Gramastacus insolitus and Gramastacus gracilis. In 1990, G. gracilis was determined to be a junior synonym of G. insolitus. In 2014, a new species Gramastacus lacus from the coastal regions of New South Wales was formally described by McCormack.[1]

Species

  • Western Swamp Crayfish - Gramastacus insolitus Riek, 1972 (western Victoria, Australia) - a very small non-burrowing crayfish that shares burrows with larger crayfish species
  • Eastern Swamp Crayfish - Gramastacus lacus McCormack, 2014 (coastal regions of New South Wales, Australia) - a larger, more robust crayfish species that digs their own burrows

References

  1. ^ McCormack, Robert B. (4 April 2014). "The eastern swamp crayfish Gramastacus lacus sp. n. (Decapoda, Parastacidae) a new species of freshwater crayfish from coastal New South Wales, Australia". ZooKeys (398). Pensoft Publishers: 53–67. doi:10.3897/zookeys.398.7544. PMC 3978226. PMID 24715801.