Distribution and spread of spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) in Belarus

The spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus was registered for the first time in the Neman River and its tributaries, in the Grodno region, Belarus in 1997. The crayfish spread upstream from Grodno over the next 14 years, migrating 177 km along the course of the Neman River. Today spiny-cheek crayfish are recorded in 8 rivers including the Neman, Narew and Western Bug basins. We never found native crayfish species together with spiny-cheek crayfish during our surveys, which may indicate replacement of native species by invasive O. limosus in the studied area.