Cherax quadricarinatus (known by several common names, including Australian red claw crayfish, Queensland red claw, red claw yabby, redclaw, tropical blue crayfish, freshwater blueclaw crayfish) is an Australian freshwater crayfish.
Distribution and ecology
C. quadricarinatus is native to permanent freshwater streams, billabongs and lakes on the north coast of the Northern Territory, northeastern Queensland, and Papua New Guinea. Zambia, Malaysia and Singapore.
This tropical crustacean is very tolerant of environmental changes, and is primarily a detritivore.
Description
The colour of C. quadricarinatus ranges from dark brown to blue-green. Their heads have four keels (as inferred by the epithet), and adult males have a distinct red patch on the outer margin of the claws. They can reach up to 30 cm (12 in) and . which are fertilised from a spermatophore which the male has deposited at the base of her walking legs (pereiopods) during mating. Fertilised eggs are affixed to the female's pleopods, situated on the underside of the tail. Incubation takes approximately six weeks and the newly hatched juveniles rapidly become independent.
It is farmed commercially in Queensland and the Northern Territory, and is harvested at between .