Pontastacus leptodactylus, the Danube crayfish, Galician crayfish, Turkish crayfish or narrow-clawed crayfish, is a relatively large and economically important species of crayfish. It is native to fresh and brackish waters in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, mainly in the Pontic–Caspian region. It can also be found in areas including the basins of the Black Sea, and the Danube, Dnieper, Don, and Volga rivers, as well as aquatic systems in Turkey. It has spread widely beyond its native range, beginning in the 1700s when it spread via canals constructed in western Russia and since the 1900s through introductions to many regions for human consumption.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it venomous or poisonous?
We have no record of Narrow-clawed crayfish being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Astacus astacus
- Austropotamobius torrentium
- Faxonius limosus
- Austropotamobius pallipes
- Procambarus simulans
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Astacidae
- Genus
- Pontastacus
- Species
- Pontastacus leptodactylus
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