Friday, August 6, 2021

Non-crusty Crustacean

 

Hmm, I seem to be getting braver after handling the bryozoan and being startled by a turtle. I picked this crayfish exoskeleton out the water, hoping there'd be enough detail to positively identify it. It was soggy and droopy. 

Though we have seen crayfish on our lake over the years, no specific species have been reported, so I was hoping to rectify that. We have a few natives it could be, or the invasive rusty crayfish. Methinks identifying a live one would be best - the thorax is missing here, as it's where the skin breaks open for the 'beast' to emerge, but that's where the rusty crayfish has its distinctive coloration!



I let it dry out, and it looks a whole lot better that way. I'll add it to my nature study collection of skulls, feathers, seeds and exoskeletons.



2 comments:

Wendy said...

Oh wouldn't it be grand if we could do the same?

Debbie said...

What? Get dried up and crusty?