Tuesday Crustie: Zarigani

I’m not sure if “zarigani” is Japanese for “crayfish” in general, or just the one species shown above: Cambaroides japonicus. It is the only crayfish native to Japan, living mainly on the northern island of Hokkaido. It is endangered, in part because other crayfish from North America were introduced into Japan, and now appear to be out-competing the natives.

While this is neither the prettiest nor most impressive crayfish, it has character. I like it.

Picture from here.