Brightly colored creature -- kept in pet aquariums globally -- discovered as new species

Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald on Jan 9, 2025

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Far from its home in Indonesia, a brightly colored creature moved around in an aquarium. Scientists peered into the tank, studying their pet-turned-specimen — and discovered it was a new species.

Researchers in the Czech Republic purchased a shipment of Indonesian crayfish from a “leading” pet wholesaler in March 2023, according to a study published Jan. 9 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. Crayfish are also known as crawfish or crawdads.

Looking through the aquarium pets, the team found several brightly colored and familiar-looking crayfish, the study said. These animals had been some of “the first freshwater crayfish” from New Guinea to be exported as aquarium pets over 21 years ago.

Ever since, the hazy blue and purple crayfish have become “popular” pets in Europe, the United States, Japan and Indonesia. Pet traders sold the crayfish under a variety of names, but scientists had never formally classified them — until now.

Researchers studied six of these crayfish, analyzed their DNA and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Cherax pulverulentus, or the dusty crayfish.

Dusty crayfish are “moderately-sized,” reaching over 2 inches in length, the study said. They have “smooth” bodies, claws and “large” eyes.

The new species has “two color forms,” researchers said and photos show. The “purple form” crayfish have turquoise bodies dotted with purple spots. Their joints and tails have a paler white hue.

“Blue form” crayfish have a darker hue, varying from dark blue to almost blackish-blue, other photos show. Their joints and tails are a contrasting orange.

Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin term “pulverulentus,” meaning “covered with dust,” because of its “many tiny dot-like spots.”

Dusty crayfish are “burrowing” animals, living in freshwater streams of “the Indonesian part of New Guinea,” an island north of Australia that also includes mainland Papua New Guinea, the study said. Little else is known about how the new species lives in the wild.

During their surveys, researchers found one dusty crayfish in a “thermal spring” of Hungary, “a probable consequence of aquarium dumping.”

Researchers recommended “future detailed surveys” of Indonesian New Guinea “to improve the knowledge of the new species distribution.” They also noted that “formal scientific descriptions of new species are crucial for the proper management of pet-traded crayfish in their native range.”

The new species was identified by its coloring, legs, body proportions and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 2% genetic divergence from other related species.

The research team included Jiří Patoka, Surya Gentha Akmal, Martin Bláha and Antonín Kouba.