Giant Crayfish Found in Tennessee
 

From Giant crayfish found in Tennessee is new species - Yahoo! News -

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new species of giant crayfish literally crawled out from under a rock in Tennessee, proving that large new species of animals can be found in highly populated and well-explored places, researchers said on Wednesday. The new crayfish should not have been easily overlooked, as it is huge -- twice the size of other species, the team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Kentucky University said."


"Taylor and Guenter Schuster of Eastern Kentucky University found their first specimen of the new species under one of the biggest rocks in the deepest part of a commonly explored Tennessee creek.
The new species, called Barbicambarus simmonsi, is about 5 inches (12 cm) long and has antennae covered with a sensitive fringe of tiny, hair-like bristles, called setae."




I must take issue with the term 'giant' as it is quite relative - the world's largest known freshwater crayfish, Astacopsis gouldi, which is found in the rivers of northern Tasmania, can weigh up to 5 kilograms (~11 lbs).

That's a good-sized Crayfish, surprising that it had never been described, given its size and appearance. I've seen the big red ones around here that looked almost that big, at least to my eyes, when I was a kid.

That Tasmanian beast is the size of a Lobster, amazing!

John

The largest ones I've seen (more than 4" body length) have been in pools deep inside a cave.