New white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet, 1858) occurrences in Carinthia, Austria

Abstract

In Austria, the white-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet, 1858), was known only from the Gitsch Valley, a side valley of the Gail Valley in the Drave drainage. Four new sites of this species have been recently discovered in Carinthia outside the Gitsch Valley, two in the Gail Valley and two in the Drave Valley. Data from these suggest that the Carinthia's white-clawed crayfish form a part of the A. pallipes italicus complex without being independent under the variety name, "var. carinthiacus". These findings also suggest new biogeographical questions regarding Carinthia's crayfish.