Genus Cherax Erichson, 1846

Museums

Regional Maps

• Cherax Erichson, W.F. 1846. Uebersicht der Arten der Gattung Astacus. Archiv für Naturgeschichte xii: 86-103, 375-377 [88] [original spelling; accepted as the Valid Original Spelling and placed on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology, see ICZN (1958); first introduced as a subgenus of Astacus with two different spellings and elevated to generic rank with third form of spelling by Huxley (1879); gender masculine].

  Type species:

   Astacus (Cheraps) preissii Erichson, 1846 by monotypy.

  Secondary source:

   Huxley, T.H. 1879. On the classification and the distribution of the crayfishes. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1878: 752-788; International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1958. Opinion 519. Addition to the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology of the names of twenty-three genera of Macrura Reptantia (Class Crustacea) and use of the Plenary Powers in regard to three matters concerned therewith. Opinions and Declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 19: 133-168.
• Cheraps Erichson, W.F. 1846. Uebersicht der Arten der Gattung Astacus. Archiv für Naturgeschichte xii: 86-103, 375-377 [101] [invalid name; considered to be an Invalid Original Spelling for Cherax Erichson, 1846 and placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Names in Zoology in Opinion 519, see ICZN (1958)].

  Secondary source:

   International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1958. Opinion 519. Addition to the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology of the names of twenty-three genera of Macrura Reptantia (Class Crustacea) and use of the Plenary Powers in regard to three matters concerned therewith. Opinions and Declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 19: 133-168.
• Astaconephrops Nobili, G. 1899. Contribuzioni alla conoscenza della fauna carcinologica della Papuasia, delle Molucche e dell' Australia. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genova 20: 230-282, 358, 473-523 [244] [gender masculine].

  Type species:

   Astaconephrops albertisii Nobili, 1899 by monotypy.
• Parachaeraps Smith, G.W. 1912. The freshwater crayfishes of Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1912: 144-170 [145, 148, 150, 161] [gender masculine].

  Type species:

   Astacus bicarinatus Gray, 1845 by monotypy.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hobbs, H.H., Jr 1974. Synopsis of the families and genera of crayfish. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 164: i-iii, 1-32 [20]

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

New Guinea, Aru Islands, and Misool.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones

IBRA

NSW North Coast (NNC) ; NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

IMCRA

Northeast Shelf Province (40)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Northern Territory: Lake Eyre basin, N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
  • South Australia: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, S Gulfs, SE coastal
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Western Australia: SW coastal

Distribution References

General References

Austin, C.M. 1996. Systematics of the freshwater crayfish genus Cherax Erichson (Decapoda: Parastacidae) in northern and eastern Australia: electrophoretic and morphological variation. Australian Journal of Zoology 44: 259-296

Austin, C.M. & Knott, B. 1996. Systematics of the freshwater crayfish genus Cherax Erichson (Decapoda: Parastacidae) in south-western Australia: electrophoretic, morphological and habitat variation. Australian Journal of Zoology 44: 223-258

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
05-Dec-2019	DECAPODA Latreille, 1802	08-Aug-2018	MODIFIED	Dr Shane Ahyong
29-May-2012		29-May-2012	MOVED
20-Oct-2011		20-Oct-2011	MODIFIED
		03-Jun-2010	MODIFIED