Local crawfish farmer finds unique mudbug

Crawfish lakes are full of all sorts of creatures, but one farmer saw a first in his field on a recent day of picking up brood stock.
Phillip Miller of L’Anse Aux Pailles said, “I was picking up mama crawfish in the ditch to put in my crawfish ponds in L’Anse de Chodier, off La. 95 southeast of Chataigner.
“I noticed something different about this one, and when I flipped it over, I saw it had babies and male appendages. I’ve never seen that before.”
Miller, who has farmed crawfish since the early 1970s, said he talked to several long-time crawfish farmers and staff at Riceland Crawfish in Eunice, and he said those individuals had also never seen such a thing.
Miller also talked and sent photos of the crawfish to LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant Aquaculture Specialist Mark Shirley.
Shirley said, “I sent the photos along to researchers at LSU, and they said it is a rare occurrence. Internally, this crawfish is female, but she has external male appendages.
“It’s a rare, genetic abnormality.”
In addition to the male-female crawfish, Miller said he has also seen a blonde raccoon near that particular crawfish lake.