Self cloning crayfish

An invading rare kind of self-cloning crayfish has been discovered in Madagascar, and is causing all sorts of alarm among researchers. Scientists are afraid that if these self-cloning crayfish continue to expand their territory that it could have sever consequences on the local environment. Madagascar is the home of numerous plants and animals, and is very delicately balanced. These invading crayfish may cause quite a disturbance.

The fear is escalating on Madagascar, an island located on the Indian ocean, as this self-cloning crayfish are invading and are eating their fair share of the rice paddies, and are an imminent threat to the endemic crayfish species.

It is not quite clear just how, or when, these shrimp like crustaceans, which are believed to have come from North America, came to Madagascar, which is some 400 miles off the coast of Mozambique.

Researchers think that the crayfish may have made its way from Europe, where scientists from Germany warned that crayfish were becoming very prolific as aquarium fish back in 2003.

A biologist at the Universite d’Antananarivo, professor Olga Ramilijaona, has explained that the first of these crayfish were found in a rice paddy close to the Capital in 2003.

However, the first “invasion” of the species, known as Marmorkrebs or Procambarus due to the fact that they appear to be closely related to North American crayfish in the genus Procambarus, particularly Procambarus fallax, came in the rainy season of 2007, when the crayfish, which were sold to less fortunate locals as a source of protein in the diet, began being sold in the markets.

Looks like there will be plenty enough to go around on the menu, if something isn’t done about this soon.. Scientists still don’t have a plan of action, but they are working on it.