#4503 · 🦀 crabs & other crustaceans
European Crayfish
🇳🇱 Europese rivierkreeft ·Astacus astacus
7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
Astacus astacus , the European crayfish , noble crayfish , or broad-fingered crayfish , is the most common species of crayfish in Europe, and a traditional food source. Like other true crayfish, A. astacus is restricted to fresh water, living only in unpolluted streams, rivers, and lakes. It is found from France throughout Central Europe, to the Balkan Peninsula, and north as far as parts of the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. Males may grow up to 16 cm long,...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 2 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 1,439 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
- Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
fact sheet
- English
- European Crayfish
- Nederlands
- Europese rivierkreeft
- scientific name
- Astacus astacus
- class
- Malacostraca
- order
- Decapoda
- family
- Astacidae
- IUCN Red List
- VU · vulnerable
- sightings in NL
- 2
- sightings in Europe
- 973
- sightings worldwide
- 1,439
- GBIF records in NL
- 110
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: kwetsbaar. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Astacidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 84862, Wikidata Q210959, GBIF 2226998, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.