A new type of cancer has settled in the rivers of the Crimean Peninsula

The marble crayfish Procambarus fallax was found in reservoirs on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. A new species for the region was caught in the Alma, Belbek and Chernaya estuaries, according to the Telegram channel of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The research was conducted together with specialists from the A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The scientists conducted a comprehensive morphological and molecular genetic analysis of the find.

It turned out that Crimean individuals have the same set of different forms of the same gene as the population of marbled crayfish in the waters of Sweden, Japan and Madagascar.

According to scientists, arthropods are spread by migratory birds, such as swans and ducks. Birds are able to tolerate juveniles and crayfish eggs. This migration method explains the fragmented nature of the new findings.

According to IA SevastopolMedia, initially the marble crab lived in Florida and multiplied sexually. However, its European subpopulation is capable of parthenogenesis — females reproduce without the participation of a male. This allows the species to explore new places, since one individual is enough to start a population.

The appearance of Procambarus fallax suggests that tropical species are moving to more northern latitudes. Experts expect that marble crayfish may soon appear in other regions of Russia with a similar climate, for example in the Krasnodar Territory or Rostov-on-Don.

Earlier it was reported that Russian scientists are creating DNA vaccines for fish, which will allow a record increase in survival in aquatic farms and increase their productivity. The first pilot experiment has already been conducted on walleye.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.