n.
or crawfish or crawdad
Any of more than 500 species of decapods that are closely related to the lobster .
Nearly all the species live in freshwater, and over half are found in North America. They have a joined head and thorax (midsection) and a segmented body that is yellow, green, red, or dark brown. The head has a sharp snout, and the eyes are on movable stalks. The exoskeleton is thin but tough, and the front pair of legs have large pincers. Crayfish are usually about 3 in. (7.5 cm) long but range from 1 to 16 in. (2.540 cm) long.