New observations of the biology of the “white-clawed crayfish” Austropotamobius italicus (Faxon) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Astacidae); association with decomposition or remains

Saloña-Bordas, M. I., Morales-Rayo, J. and Perotti, M. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3769-7126 (2021) New observations of the biology of the “white-clawed crayfish” Austropotamobius italicus (Faxon) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Astacidae); association with decomposition or remains. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa (SEA), 68. ISSN 1134-6094

Abstract/Summary

Austropotamobius italicus (Faxon) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Astacidae) is an endangered species inhabiting southern Europe streams, with a diet of algae and small invertebrates from pristine waters. In a pilot study using two submerged pig- carcasses, exposed to two different environments of the river Manzanares in central Spain (Madrid Province), a lotic and a lentic corner of the river, we documented the “white-clawed crayfish” A. italics, continuously scavenging the carcass located in a shadowed and lentic site of the river. A. italicus was feeding in all decomposition stages. This new observation adds information of the feeding habits of this protected species and provides a new potential marker of carcass or corpse decomposition in lentic environments to the incomplete list of freshwater arthropod scavengers known to Europe.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/97563
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Publisher	Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa
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