Crayfish Dissection: Procedure for Dissection

Place the crayfish with its dorsal side up in a dissection tray. Locate the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The carapace, a shield of chitin, covers the dorsal surface of the cephalothorax. On the carapace, observe an indentation, the cervical groove, that extends across the midregion and separates the head and thoracic regions. On the thoracic region, locate the prominent structure or indentation on the cephalothorax that defines a central area separate from the sides. Note the individual segments of the abdomen.

Turn the crayfish on its side, and locate the rostrum, which is the pointed extension of the carapace at the head of the animal. Beneath the rostrum locate the two eyes. Notice that each eye is at the end of a stalk.

Locate the five pairs of appendages on the head region. First locate the antennules in the most anterior segment. Behind them observe the much longer pair of antennae.
Locate the mouth. Then observe the mandibles, or true jaws, behind the antennae. Now locate the two pairs of maxillae, which are the last appendages in the cephalic region.

On the thoracic portion of the cephalothorax, observe the three pointed maxillipeds.

Next observe the largest prominent pair of appendages, the chelipeds, or claws. Behind the chelipeds locate the four pairs of walking legs, one pair on each segment.

Now use the walking legs to determine the sex of your specimen. Locate the base segment of each pair of walking legs. The base segment is where the leg attaches to the body. Use a magnifying glass to study the inside surface of the base segment of the third pair of walking legs. If you observe a crescent-shaped slit, you have located a genital pore of a female. In a male, the sperm duct openings are on the base segment of the fourth pair of walking legs. Use a magnifying glass to observe the opening of a genital pore.

On the abdomen, observe the six distinct segments. On each of the first five segments, observe a pair of swimmerets.

On the last abdominal segment, observe a pair of pointed appendages modified into a pair of uropods. In the middle of the uropods, locate the triangular-shaped telson.

Now turn the crayfish ventral side up. Observe the location of each pair of appendages from the ventral side.

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 dissection cut line 1. 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.

*Use forceps to carefully lift away the carapace. Be careful not to pull the carapace away too quickly. Such action would disturb or tear the underlying structure.
Place the specimen on its side, with the head facing left, as shown in the diagram below. Using scissors, start cutting at the base of cut line 1. Cut along the side of the crayfish. Extend the cut line forward toward the rostrum (at the top of the head).

Use forceps to carefully lift away the remaining parts of the carapace, exposing the underlying gills and other organs.

Identify the organs of the digestive system. Locate the maxillae that pass the pieces of food into the mouth. The food travels down the short esophagus into the stomach. Locate the digestive gland, which produces digestive substances and from which the absorption of nutrients occurs. Undigested material passes into the intestine. Observe that the intestine is attached to the lobed stomach. The undigested material is eliminated from the anus.

**Locate and identify the organs of the respiratory system. Locate the gills, which are featherlike structures found underneath the carapace and attached to the chelipeds and walking legs. A constant flow of blood to the gills releases carbon dioxide and picks up oxygen.

Use the diagram of the internal anatomy of the crayfish to locate and identify the organs of the circulatory system. Locate the dorsal tubular heart and several arteries. The crayfish has an open circulatory system in which the blood flows from arteries into sinuses, or spaces, in tissues. The blood flows over the gills before returning to the heart.

Use the same diagram to locate and identify the organs of the nervous system. Find the ventral nerve cord. Locate a ganglion, one of the enlargements of the ventral nerve cord. Locate the dorsal brain, which is located just behind the compound eyes. Note the two large nerves that lead from the brain, around the esophagus, and join the ventral nerve cord.

Use the same diagram to locate and identify the organs of the excretory system. The blood carries cellular wastes to the disk-like green glands. Locate these organs just in front of the stomach. The green glands excrete waste through pores at the base of each antenna.
Use the diagram once again to locate and identify the organs of the reproductive system. The animal shown in the diagram is a male crayfish. If your specimen is a male, locate the testis. The testis is the long, white organ under the heart and a bit forward. The sperm ducts that carry sperm from the testis open at the fifth walking leg. If your specimen is a female, locate the bi-lobed ovary. It is in the same relative position as the testis, but the ovary appears as a large, reddish mass under the heart. Then locate the short oviducts that extend from near the center of each side of the ovary and open at the third walking leg. Exchange your specimen with a nearby classmate who has a crayfish of the opposite sex. Then study its reproductive system.

Crayfish Dissection