Environmentalists in the Westcountry are urging residents to be on guard for a rare crab which can devastate river banks.
An angler contacted the Environment Agency after finding the Chinese mitten crab in the Taw-Torridge estuary in north Devon.
The crab is to be examined by experts at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth later this week.
Douglas Herdson, spokesman for the Aquarium, said the freshwater crabs burrowed into river banks making them more prone to collapse.
'They can cause quite a lot of devastation and could harm the salmon and trout sites in the Taw-Torridge,' he said.
The Chinese mitten crab so-called because of its hairy claws has only been reported on one previous occasion in the south west.
The Environment Agency and the National Marine Aquarium are asking anyone who spots the crab in Westcountry waterways to get in touch.
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