Tähnikvähk
Pacifastacus leniusculus
#nm_0624📍 Estonia
- Language
- Estonian
- Transliteration
- Tahnikvahk
- IPA
- /ˈtæhnikˌvæhk/
Compound: tähnik + vähk tähnik: spotted, from tähn (spot, mark), vähk: crayfish ↳ vähk from Proto-Finnic *vähi (crayfish) ↳ Borrowed from Proto-Baltic, compare Latvian vēzis (crayfish) and Lithuanian vėžys (crayfish) Names the pale claw patch as a spot, like Finnish täplärapu, where signaalvähk names it as a signal.
Freshwater crayfish typically 6-9 cm long, reaching 16-20 cm. Smooth carapace, brown to reddish above, with a distinctive white to pale blue-green patch at the hinge of each claw. Native to the Columbia River basin of western North America. Introduced to Europe from 1960 and established in 27 countries by 2009. A largely resistant carrier of crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci), which is fatal to European crayfish.