Photos: Crawfish tales

Henry “Hank” Bart Jr. is an expert in astacology, the study of crawfishes. Thanks to Bart, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Tulane, a group of alumni is now well informed about astacology. He was guest speaker at a gathering celebrating crawfish that was hosted by Alumni Affairs on Thursday (Jan. 19).

Hank Bart, standing, tells his alumni audience that “crawfish,” not “crayfish,” is the preferred name for Procambarus clarkii, the Red Swamp Crawfish that makes up more than 70 percent of the crawfish harvest.

A crawfish salad is one of three tasty dishes that the group sampled during the presentation at the Bea Field Alumni House on the uptown campus. Mr. Mudbug prepared the crawfish menu.

A capacity audience enjoys the crawfish lesson and the tasting menu. By the way, 98 percent of U.S. crawfish does come from Louisiana.