| Summary: | Australian freshwater crayfish are hosts to ectosymbiotic, turbellarian worms of the temnocephalan subfamily Craspedellinae Baer, 1931 which are found in the the branchial chamber and are characterised by possession of one or more transverse papillate ridges across the dorsal body and crenulate (papillate) tentacles. The Craspedellinae is enlarged to accommodate four species viz. Gelasinella powellorum gen. et sp. nov. from Euastacus spinifer and three new species of Craspedella from Cherax spp. The definition of the Craspedellinae is emended to include a description of the organisation of the epidermal syncytial mosaic. The pattern of the epidermal syncytial mosaic of Craspedellinae is diagnostic for the subfamily, but not useful to discriminate either genera or species within the taxon. The biogeography of the Craspedellinae suggests an origin in Australia/New Guinea after the separation of South America and Australia from Antarctica (c. 45 mya) and coevolution and radiation with Cherax crayfish, followed by host switching to Euastacus.
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