''Cherax pulcher'' is a species of crayfish from West Papua in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is popular as a freshwater aquarium species across Asia, Europe, and North America.Patoka, J., Kalous, L., & Kopecký, O. (2015). Imports of ornamental crayfish: the first decade from the Czech Republic’s perspective. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, (416), 04.

Etymology

The specific name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''

pulcher Pulcher is Latin for "beautiful", and may refer to: * Claudius Pulcher (disambiguation), Romans * Publius Clodius Pulcher, Roman politician and street agitator * ''Pelvicachromis pulcher ''Pelvicachromis pulcher'' is a Fresh water, freshwater ...

'', which means "beautiful". The name was chosen due to the species' bright coloration.

Discovery

The species was first observed being sold for aquariums, where it was ascertained that it likely represented a new species. However, it proved difficult to track down, as dealers' claims as to its location proved difficult to corroborate. It was eventually traced to the

Bird's Head Peninsula The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, where a number of specimens were collected with the help of the Maju Aquarium in Jakarta.

Description

Males of the species measure in length, while females measure long. The body is slightly oval in shape. The species has notably large eyes. The species is brightly colored, with a pink cephalothorax that fades into greenish-grey on the sides. The

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

is a greenish-blue, and the

pleon The decapod (crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various ...

is dark blue or black, with pinkish-grey or cream coloration on the margins (in some individuals the pleon is greenish-grey with pink speckles). The tail fan is cream-colored or pink around the outside margin. The legs are blue, and the

chelae A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer (biology), pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are ...

are blue with varying intensities, with cream-colored or white margins.

Taxonomy

''Cherax pulcher'' is part of the subgenus ''Astaconephrops''. It is the nineteenth ''

Cherax ''Cherax'', commonly known as yabby/yabbies in Australia, is the most widespread genus of fully aquatic crayfish in the Southern Hemisphere. Various species of cherax may be found in both still and flowing bodies of freshwater across most of ...

'' species to have been discovered in West Papua in

(''Cherax'' are not known from other Indonesian regions). The most morphologically similar species, '' C. boesemani'', is found in the Ajamaru Lake and the Ajamaru River, approximately away.

Range and habitat

So far the species has only been found in Hoa Creek near the village of

Teminabuan Teminabuan is a small town in South Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The town serves as the administrative capital of South Sorong Regency. It had a population of 11,627 at the 2010 Census and 19,491 at the 2020 Census. The town is loc ...

in West Papua, Indonesia. The creek is clear, fast flowing in some places, with a sandy and rocky bottom.

Human use

The species is sold throughout Asia, Europe, and North America on the

ornamental fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry an ...

market, where it is commonly marketed under the names "Hoa Creek", "Blue Moon", or "Irian Jaya". Local people also harvest it as a source of food.

Conservation status

Due to continued harvesting of the species both for export and for consumption, it has been observed by local collectors that the species' numbers have begun to decrease.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20025358 Parastacidae Crustaceans of Indonesia Crustaceans described in 2015 Fauna of Western New Guinea