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Copyright of Natura Croatica is the property of Natura Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Natura Croatica is the property of Natura Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In order to improve our general knowledge on the distribution of the various species of freshwater crayfish of the family Astacidae in Croatia, we gathered all the available unpublished data, as well as data from the literature and those of our own investigations. Our research confirmed the presence of three crayfish species in Croatia: Astacus astacus (Linnaeus, 1758). Austropotamobius torrentium (Schrank. 1803), and Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet. 1858), and we officially recorded the presence of Astacus leptodactylus Eschseholtz, 1823 and Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817). Biogeographical data suggest the following distribution pattern: A. astacus is distributed in the continental part of Croatia, forming both river and lake populations, A. pallipes is distributed in south and southwest Croatia (Lika Istria Dalmatia and on some islands in the Adriatic Sea) A torrentium can he found in streams at higher altitudes in the continental part of Croatia. Finally A Ieptodactylus is found in the rivers of eastern and central Croatia (Slavonia and Posavina). while O. limosus was discovered recently in marshes of the Nature Park Kopaëkint (Slavonia). Some mixed populations of A. astacus and A. torrentium were detected. Some specimens of A. pallipes and A. torrentium were found in underground habitats Research on the distribution of' freshwater crayfish should he more intensive, and will he continued in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]