#Cherax 'Irian Jaya'

[aquariuminfobureau]

A new crayfish has been described from the tributaries of the Warsamson River, in the Vogelkop Peninsula, of western Papua New Guinea. The 'new' crayfish species has received the name of Cherax warsamsonicus, the Warsamson River crayfish, although it was already known to aquarists and traded, as Cherax 'Irian Jaya', 'Hoa Creek', or 'Pink Coral'. Thus C. warsamsonicus is a good example of how discovery is not the same thing as formal, scientific description. The wild animals can have a total length of up to 11 centimeters, or a little above 4 inches.

Cherax are a genus of crayfishes or freshwater lobsters, that is endemic to the Australasian realm. The closest living relatives of the Australasian crayfishes are inhabitants of Madagascar and South America. Which is to say, a former distribution associated with Gondwana, whereas the other crayfishes are assumed to be a related, Laurasian group. The relationships between crayfish has often been used as evidence for continental drift, and the related biogeographic phenomenon, known as vicariance.

As a genus, Cherax is one of the most speciose genera of crayfishes, and is naturally present on both Australia and New Guinea. On Australia they are most commonly known as the yabbies, although the species called the marron, also belongs to this genus. However is is the New Guinea morphs of Cherax sp. that have more recently captivated the imaginations of aquarists, these morphs appearing in the trade before their formal descriptions.

C. warsamsonicus is described from a shallow, moderately flowing tributary of the Warsamson, though it is reportedly also found in the river itself. The water pH was around 6.5, the temperature was about 25 or 26 degrees centigrade. Reportedly they are also fairly omnivorous foragers, as you might expect of a Cherax species, although I do not have dietary information for this new species in the wild, beyond anecdotes that they are as easy to feed as are the other Cherax species.

Cherax sp. are omnivorous with a largely vegetarian bent, but they obtain animal protein through foraging activities, and not by active predation. Animals such as snails are consumed, and potentially sleeping fishes, but not vigorously motile animals. Other factors can lead to confrontations, when crayfish are housed with benthic fishes or crustaceans that use the living spaces within the aquarium. However in contrast with certain other crayfishes, Cherax sp. are less antisocial with their own kind, assuming that their environment allows each animal sufficient space and retreats.

Plants however, are very likely to be eaten by these herbivores, or if not, they could be uprooted by their ambulatory or burrowing activities. C. warsamsonicus excavate short burrows, but alternatively they hide themselves among rocks and pieces of detritus in the stream. Presumably they feed on vegetable detritus more than living plants in the wild, because there are few of the latter in the tributaries inhabited by C. warsamsonicus.

[typhlonectes]

New species of lovely endemic crayfish discovered in West Papua, Indonesia

Cherax warsamsonicus, a new species of crayfish from the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula in West Papua, Indonesia (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parastacidae) 

A new species, Cherax warsamsonicus sp. n., endemic to the Warsamson River drainage, in the western part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with its closely related species, Cherax misolicus Holthuis, 1949. The new species may be easily distinguished from C. misolicus by the shape of the rostrum, absence of setae on the rostrum, the shape of the chelae, the presence of 3-4 cervical spines and by using sequence divergence, which is substantial for considering C. warsamsonicus sp. n. to be a new species. The new species is collected and exported for ornamental purposes and its commercial name in the pet trade is Cherax “irian jaya”, Cherax “pink coral”, or Cherax “hoa creek“. Due to similar colouration it is often confused with the recently described Cherax pulcher Lukhaup, 2015.

The full study is openly published with us at: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.660.11847

via: Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei

[typhlonectes]

Warsamson River Crayfish - Cherax warsamsonicus

A New Species of Crayfish (Decapoda, Parastacidae) from the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) Peninsula in West Papua, Indonesia   [2017]

A new species, Cherax warsamsonicus sp. n., endemic to the Warsamson River drainage, in the western part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with its closely related species, Cherax misolicus Holthuis, 1949.

The new species may be easily distinguished from C. misolicus by the shape of the rostrum, absence of setae on the rostrum, the shape of the chelae, the presence of 3-4 cervical spines and by using sequence divergence, which is substantial for considering C. warsamsonicus sp. n. to be a new species.

The new species is collected and exported for ornamental purposes and its commercial name in the pet trade is Cherax “irian jaya”, Cherax “pink coral”, or Cherax “hoa creek“.

Due to similar colouration it is often confused with the recently described Cherax pulcher Lukhaup, 2015. 

Read more:

http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2017/03/cherax-warsamsonicus.html

Source:

Christian Lukhaup, Rury Eprilurahman and Thomas von Rintelen. 2017. Cherax warsamsonicus,  ZooKeys. 660; 151-167.  DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.660.11847