Common yabby
The common yabby (Cherax destructor) is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family. It is listed as a vulnerable species of crayfish by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though the wild yabby populations remain strong, and have expanded into new habitats created by reservoirs and farm dams.
| Common yabby | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Family: | Parastacidae |
| Genus: | Cherax |
| Species: | C. destructor |
| Binomial name | |
| Cherax destructor (Clark, 1936) | |
Other names frequently used for Cherax destructor include the blue yabby or cyan yabby. Its common name of "yabby" is also applied to many other Australian Cherax species of crustacean (as well as to marine ghost shrimp of the infraorder Thalassinidea).
Yabbies occasionally reach up to 30 cm (12 in) in length, but are more commonly 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long.
Colour is highly variable and depends on water clarity and habitat; yabbies can range from black, blue-black, or dark brown in clear waters to light brown, green-brown, or beige in turbid waters. Yabbies specifically bred to be a vibrant blue colour are now popular in the aquarium trade in Australia.
During a wet season, an Australian yabby can travel kilometres across land in search of new water in which to make its home.
The word "yabby" comes from Wemba Wemba, an Aboriginal Australian language.