Chiara Di Leo

• Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 425-428

  Chiara Di Leo, Francesco Paolo Faraone & Mario Lo Valvo
  A new record of the Red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) (Crustacea Cambaridae), in Sicily, Italy

  ABSTRACT
  The Red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852), is a decapod crustacean native of the United States and Northern Mexico that was introduced in several countries of the world. This species are known to have detrimental effects on invaded ecosystems. The Red swamp crayfish was found for the first time in Sicily in 2012, inside the Nature Reserve “Lago Preola e Gorghi Tondi” (Trapani province). This paper describes the discovery of a second population of this species at the “Rosamarina” reservoir (Palermo province), whose origin appears to be independent of the first one. This new finding emphasizes the need for extensive survey in Sicily and the development of an adequate action plan for containment or eradication of this species.

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