Sound production in the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Decapoda: Cambaridae)

Little is known about the acoustic behaviour of freshwater crustaceans. The present study is the first to describe the acoustic features and the sound production mechanisms of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii. Acoustic signalling was recorded and videotaped. When the animals were recorded in air, they produced a pulsed signal by beating the scaphognathite inside the chamber constituted by the efferent branchial channels. No sound was emitted after scaphognathite ablation. The acoustic features of the signals varied among individuals but were not correlated with body size. Several hypotheses on the functions of these sounds were discussed.