Marmorkrebs found in Sweden, again

Apologies for being a bit behind the curve on this one, but I just saw the latest press release from back in July from the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management saying that Marmorkrebs had been found again this last summer, and in a different location that last autumn, and multiple individuals of different sizes.

This is not good news for Sweden, as it suggests Marmorkrebs are gaining a beachhead in that country.

 

Long overdue update, 30 June 2022: It wasn’t Marmorkrebs at all. It was still invasive, but a signal crayfish. It may have been a “mottled” colour pattern described here. The map is being updated.

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Nya fynd av misstänkt marmorkräfta har hittats i Västsverige

New Discoveries of Marbled Crayfish Cause Concern in Northern Europe (Note: English language press releases from this site do not appear to be archived as well as the Swedish language ones are.)

Picture from Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.

Quoth the crayfish, "Nevermore"

There are about eight native crayfish species in Russia, and those crayfish have made an impression on the vernacular. This expression means, "Never":

когда рак на горе свистнет (kogdá rak na goré svístnet) — “When the crawfish whistles on the mountain”.

For more ways of saying "Never," see here. It misses a favourite of mine, though. Apparently, in ancient Rome, an expression for "never" was, "When a mule foals."

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When Pigs Fly, Crayfish Whistle, and It Snows Red Snowflakes

Parthenogenesis primer

The Raptor Lab has a nice primer on parthenogenesis, although it focuses only on the phenomenon in pit vipers.

As if we required further proof life is weird, in walks parthenogenesis, an evolutionarily fascinating and frightening reproductive strategy, serving another round.