A bilaterally partitioned colouration of a narrow-clawed crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) in the Lake Eğirdir (Central Anatolian, Turkey)

• Published in: Limnologica 2021-01, Vol.86, p.125843, Article 125843
• Main Authors: Erol, Kamile Gonca, Özkök, Remziye, Apaydın Yağcı, Meral, Uzunmehmetoğlu, Oğuz Yaşar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bicoloured gynandromorphy; Bilateral partition; Genetic mutation; Pontastacus leptodactylus
• ISSN: 0075-9511; 1873-5851
• DOI: 10.1016/j.limno.2020.125843

•On 29 August 2019, a single atypical crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus with bilaterally partitioned colour pattern was caught from Eğirdir Lake in Turkey.•This observation of a bilaterally partitioned colour phenotype of crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus was the first report for this species.•It is stated in the literature that such the phenomenon of bilaterally-colored crayfish are seen every 50 million.•The right half of Pontastacus leptodactylus was a light pinkish-orange color while the left half was natural colour and this phenomenon persisted following molting of it. Our observation of a bilaterally partitioned colour phenotype of crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus from Lake Eğirdir in Turkey was the first for this species. The specimen exhibited unusual body coloration with its right half colored light pinkish-orange and left half was natural in colour. Although the cause of the color pattern in the sampled P. leptodactylus could not be fully determined, the hypotheses regarding previous similar phenomena in crustaceans are related to mutation during embryogenesis and bicoloured gynandromorphy.