Past and present crayfish situations in Tyrol (Austria and northern Italy)
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Abstract
Formerly, freshwater crayfish were very popular in Tyrol (Austria and Italy). They have been documented since 1504 in North Tyrol, 1310 in South Tyrol and 1504 in East Tyrol. Today in North Tyrol, four species of crayfish are found. Astacus astacus, present at least since 1504, is not native but most likely introduced between 1475 and 1504. Astacus leptodactylus is not native, too, and its introduction date is unknown. Austropotamobius pallipes, again an allochthonous species, was introduced in the first half of the 20th century; only Austropotamobius torrentium is native. In South Tyrol (Italy), two species are found, the native A. pallipes and the North American crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, that has been acclimatised since 1981. In East Tyrol, only A. astacus is found so far; it is not native historical records indicate its introduction between 1485 and 1504. A second species is likely to be possible, too. The painting of the night crayfish catch at Lienzer Klause near Lienz by Emperor Maximilian I may show A. pallipes, which is the most common crayfish species in the neighbouring valleys (e.g. Upper Drave Valley in Carinthia), however a proof of A. pallipes for East Tyrol is still missing. The present crayfish situation in Tyrol is not yet dealt with in detail. This paper is a first attempt to compare historical records with data of recent literature and our fieldwork of the last four years.
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Füreder L and Machino Y. (1999). Past and present crayfish situations in Tyrol (Austria and northern Italy). Freshwater Crayfish 12(1):751-764. doi:
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