Colossal Crustacean Found in Kentucky's Green River

Every Mardi Gras season, I beg my husband to take me somewhere to get a crawfish boil. It's not something I seek out when we go out to dinner but those tasty little mud bugs are a real treat a couple of times a year.

The ones we get aren't usually very big - not more than a couple of inches long. I assume they are farmed down in Louisiana since it's the biggest producer in the world. So, when I saw a photo of this granddaddy on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources facebook page, I did a double-take!

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Wow! What a whopper! Thanks to Kristin Barnett for sharing her fun find!

According to the post, "the bottlebrush crayfish occurs only in streams and rivers within the Green River drainage of Kentucky and Tennessee." In fact, there are over 50 native species of crayfish in Kentucky about half of them inhabit the waters of the Green River.

The bottlebrush crayfish gets its name from the tufted antennae that resemble bottlebrushes. It can grow over 9 inches long, which makes it one of the largest species in North America! The Kentucky Dept of Fish and Wildlife also said that Bottlebrush crayfish are listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need.

Chris Taylor, Illinois Natural History Survey curator at the University of Illinois offered some insight into why crayfish are being monitored. “We believe that crayfish are susceptible to changes in habitat, invasive crayfishes, and climate, but we don’t know what they can tolerate in terms of chemical or non-chemical stressors. That lack of knowledge is a threat in itself.”

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So, if you find a lobster the next time you are in the Green River, just know that it's actually a crawfish. Then snap a pic and put him back so he can go and make more little crawfish babies.