The species also only lives in streams and small rivers at an elevation of no more than 1,300 ft (400 m) above sea level. This species was imported to Lake Mashu from Oregon and the Columbia River system in the 1930s as a potential food source. According to the Endangered Species Committee of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), 40 percent of North America’s freshwater fish species are imperiled or already extinct. We encourage others to use this data for research and education. They found it in Louisiana in 1934 and named it Old Papa Spice. The two discovered in 2009, he estimates, were 4 to 5 years old and could be part of the largest species of crayfish in North America. Among the smallest is the 2.5-cm-long Cambarellus diminutus of the southeastern United States. I am looking at expanding my Tilapia indoor aquaculture system with a freshwater crayfish species. Several other species are also known as invaders. Perhaps when trying to ascertain what is going on, the first possibility to consider is other types of introduced, exotic crayfish. As a result, the Red Swamp Crayfish has been introduced into several countries and has out-competed the local species. The Tasmanian Giant Freshwater Crayfish claims an extremely limited range and specific habitat type. This species is thought to live only in the White River Basin of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Here is a look at the world records to beat and tips for how to do it: Blue Catfish. Biology of the Northern Crayfish (Orconectes virilis) in Manitoba. Most North American crayfish, he adds, live no more than three or four years and occasionally grow to 4 or 4 1/2 inches long (from the tip of the body to the tip of the tail). The scientific and common names used in this list are from NatureServe Explorer and Cooper (2010). Dear Blue Lobster: I read that one of the largest crayfish ever found was 90lbs and 6 feet long. List of the Crayfish species of North Carolina - compiled 2020-04-11 This is a listing of the 48 species (45 native) that have been documented to occur in the freshwater systems of the state. The closest living relatives of clawed lobsters are the reef lobsters and the three families of freshwater crayfish. We hope this project will lead to a better understanding of the distribution of crayfish species in Texas. Welcome to the Maine Crayfish Project! The Cambaridae family, with over 400 species, represents the two-thirds of the world’s crayfish species; members of this family are found natively in North America and eastern Asia. In contrast, the Neosho midget crayfish ( Orconectes macrus ) rarely exceeds two inches in the same dimension. About 48% of the crayfish species in freshwater habitats are in some level of imperilment. Here's a map of our best guess of the range of the Northern Crayfish in central North America (after Hamr 1998), not including recent introductions. The biggest crayfish is not the best tail meat yielding cray. From Dr. Chis Taylor of the University of Illinois: "Thanks for your note and interest.