Astacus

Astacus is a genus of crayfish found in Europe, comprising three extant (living) species and three somewhat contested extinct species. These crayfish are found across Europe and live exclusively in freshwater, mostly inhabiting the bottom of lakes, ponds, and streams.

Overview

Astacus (from the Greek , , meaning "lobster" or "crayfish") is a genus of crayfish found in Europe, comprising three extant (living) species and three extinct fossil species. Due to the crayfish plague, crayfish of this genus have declined in many European regions, being replaced by the invasive North American signal crayfish, which carries the plague but is unaffected by it. Classification Astacus belongs to the family Astacidae, one of the three families of Northern Hemisphere freshwater crayfish within the superfamily Astacoidea. The internal phylogeny of Astacidae can be shown in the cladogram below:

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).