110 A NATURALIST IN TASMANIA ch. 



Franhlinii) (Fig. 30), which inhabit the creeks 

 and rivers of northern Tasmania. This Crayfish 

 is the largest in the world, and is quite a distinct 

 species from the small Crayfish which is found in 

 the creeks of the southern part of the island, and 

 which never grows to more than five or six inches 

 in length. The northern Crayfish grows to nearly 

 two feet in length, and may scale eight or nine 

 pounds, competing in size with our marine Lob- 

 ster ; it is dark-green in colour, and studded on 

 the claws and gill-covers with blunt tubercles ; 

 the claws of the larger specimens are formidable 

 weapons about the size of a man's hand. We 

 obtained the largest specimens from Muddy Creek, 

 a small rivulet that one could easily step across, 

 and it seemed extraordinary to fish these huge 

 monsters out of little pools in which one would 

 expect to find nothing larger than a minnow. 

 All these Crayfishes were smothered with a para- 

 sitic Flat- worm (Temnocephala), about a quarter of 

 an inch long, which were present in such numbers, 

 as to appear like a green foam covering the animal. 

 The freshwater Crayfish or Lobster is excellent to 

 eat, being less coarse than the marine Crayfish 

 (Panulirus), which is the chief commercial Crus- 

 tacean of Australia ; but owing to the difficulties of 

 catching it, it never appears in the fish markets, 

 and the only people who eat it, or know anything 

 about it, are a few prospectors and bushmen. 



I cannot leave my reminiscences of Bridport 

 without mentioning the extraordinary quantity 



