Crawfish Dissection

Where is it found?
Crayfish can be found in any body of freshwater including streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds.
What does it eat?
Crayfish eat fish, shrimp, water plants, worms, insects, snails, plankton, and even dead plants and animals.
How does it breathe?
Crayfish breathe through Internal gills.
Fun fact:
Over 350 species of the 500 crayfish species of the world live in the United States.

Gills- used to breathe under water

Dorsal abdominal artery- central artery coming from heart 

Cardiac stomach- receives food from esophagus for storage

Digestive glands- secrete enzymes for digestion of food

Using one hand to hold the crayfish dorsal side up in the dissecting tray, use scissors to carefully cut through the back of the carapace along the dissection line. Cut along the indentations that separate the thoracic portion of the carapace into three regions. Start the cut at the posterior edges of the carapace, and extend it along both sides in the cephalic region.