Get these printable hands-on crayfish diagrams to assist your study about crayfish anatomy. These printable anatomy diagrams are designed to guide you in studying the structure of a crayfish in general. Scroll down to the bottom to see all the provided diagrams!
Crayfish are crustaceans that are also known as crawdads, crawfish, and freshwater lobsters; they are closely related to lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. Crayfish live in streams, rivers, swamps, ponds, and other freshwater habitats. Most crayfish are strictly aquatic but some live in semi-aquatic environments. The crayfish has 8 jointed walking legs, a segmented body, 2 pairs of sensory antennae, and compound eyes. It has 2 large pincers or claws called chelipeds. If a crayfish loses a leg, the leg will regenerate (regrow). The head and thorax are fused, forming the cephalothorax. You can see the anatomy diagram of a crayfish in the following crayfish diagrams.
Like all crustaceans, a crayfish has a fairly hard exoskeleton that covers its body. As shown in the diagram, its body is divided into two main parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The cephalothorax consists of the cephalic (or head) region and the thoracic region. The part of the exoskeleton that covers the cephalothorax is called the carapace. The abdomen is located behind the cephalothorax and consists of six clearly divided segments. The cephalothorax consists of 13 segments. Each segment of both the cephalothorax and the abdomen contains a pair of appendages. The head (or cephalic) region has five pairs of appendages. The antennules are organs of balance, touch, and taste. Long antennae are organs for touch, taste, and smell.
Also provided is the unlabeled version of the diagrams. Learn more about the other human body structure and anatomy diagrams by browsing through our latest posts or looking it up on the search column!