American signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, an alien invasive species to the UK and Europe, from North America.
The signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, is a North American species. It was introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the Scandinavian Astacus astacus fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague, but the imports turned out to be a carrier of that disease. The signal crayfish is now an invasive species, ousting native species across Europe and Japan. The signal crayfish is now the most widespread alien crayfish in Europe, occurring in 25 countries, from Finland to Great Britain and from Spain to Greece. It was first introduced to Great Britain in 1976, and is now widespread across the British mainland as far north as the Moray Firth. It has also been observed on the Isle of Man, but not in Ireland. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act it is illegal to introduce non-native species without permission of Natural England. All non-native crayfish caught must be humanely destroyed.
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