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To tell male crayfish from female crayfish, you have to look on the
underside. The small, soft legs under the tail, called
swimmerets
, are
important. If the first two swimmerets are long with white tips, the crayfish
is a male. The male’s other swimmerets are short. The female has long,
featherlike swimmerets. Also, the female has a white circle between the four
back walking legs. This is the egg pore. When the female lays eggs, this is
where they come out.
Two long,
white-tipped
swimmerets
Short
swimmerets
Male crayfish
Egg pore
Long,
featherlike
swimmerets
Female crayfish
What Are All Those Parts on the Crayfish?
The main part of the body is the hard shell called the
carapace
. The
head is at the front of the carapace, and the jointed tail is at the back. The
legs are attached under the carapace. There are eight small walking legs
and two big legs called
pincers
. You can also see two eyes and two long
antennae
at the front of the head. Look for the short antennae in the
photographs of the crayfish on the next few pages.
Head
Pincer
Carapace
Tail
Walking leg
Long antenna
Eye
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