Crayfish Dissection

This post will take you through how to dissect a crayfish!  But first, let's look at some facts about crayfish:

Where do they live?
They are found in freshwater lakes, rivers, streams and ponds


What do they eat?
Crayfish eat small fish and insect larvae


How do they breathe?
Crayfish breathe through feather like gills found right below the eyes


Fun Fact!
Crayfish are fully grown in about four years and can live up to 30 years 

Antenna-The crayfish's antenna help it to sense touch, taste and smell.

Walking legs-The walking legs help the crayfish with locomotion.

Sternum-This is the mid-ventral plate of the body that is situated between appendages.

Eye-Eyes help the crayfish with sight.  There is one eye at each end of a stalk on the crayfish's head.

Anus-The anus is the outlet of the digestive tract and helps release toxins from the crayfish's body.

Mandible-The mandible is the crayfish's jaw.  It helps the organism crush food.

Gills-The gills are feather like structures that receive a constant flow of blood which releases carbon dioxide and picks up oxygen.

Pyloric muscle-The pyloric muscle receives ground up food from the gastric mill and acts as a strainer for substances that can't be digested.  It then sends food to the digestive gland.

Digestive gland-The digestive glands produce digestive enzymes that help absorb nutrients into the body of the crayfish.

Anterior gastric muscle-This is one of the muscles that attaches the stomach to the inner wall of the carapace(hard outer covering).

Mandibular muscle-The crayfish has two of these muscles; they connect the mandibles to the carapace(hard outer covering).