Blue Color Anomaly in Turkish Crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Astacidae) From Atikhisar Reservoir in Çanakkale, Turkey

Abstract

Two individuals of Pontastacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) were collected from Atikhisar Reservoir in Canakkale, Turkey. The individuals were caught by using a fyke-net. The fyke-nets were collected after 3-days soaking time from the reservoir on 18 July 2020. The sampling was carried out during the daytime. The sediment of the sampling location had a muddy substrate. Both blue colored individuals of crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus) were female. Blue color anomaly was observed in all parts of the bodies of both individuals. Morphometric characteristics were measured and the total lengths were 104.83 mm and 76.92 mm, and weights were 36.09 g and 11.76 g, respectively. The genetics of the mutant species should be examined in future studies to better understanding of the main factors causing color anomalies.