Summary Report of Freshwater Nonindigenous Aquatic Species in US Fish and Wildlife Service

114 Pages·2013·4.53 MB·English

by  Fuller, Pam

Summary Report of Freshwater Nonindigenous Aquatic
Species in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4—An Update

April 2013
Prepared by:
Pam L. Fuller, Amy J. Benson, and Matthew J. Cannister
U.S. Geological Survey
Southeast Ecological Science Center
Gainesville, Florida

Prepared for:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Southeast Region
Atlanta, Georgia

Cover Photos:
Silver Carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix – Auburn University
Giant Applesnail, Pomacea maculata – David Knott
Straightedge Crayfish, Procambarus hayi – U.S. Forest Service
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ v
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vi
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1
Overview of Region 4 Introductions Since 2000 ....................................................................................... 1
Format of Species Accounts ...................................................................................................................... 2
Explanation of Maps ................................................................................................................................. 3
References Cited ....................................................................................................................................... 4
CRUSTACEANS ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Overview ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Species Accounts of Crustaceans New to Region 4 ................................................................................ 11
Argulus japonicus Thiele, 1900 (Japanese Fishlouse) ......................................................................... 11
Elaphoidella bidens bidens (Schmeil, 1893) (a harpacticoid copepod) ............................................... 12
Mesocyclops ogunnus Onabamiro, 1957 (a cyclopoid copepod) ....................................................... 13
Paracyclops bromeliacola Karaytug and Boxshall, 1998 (a copepod) ................................................ 14
Skistodiaptomus pallidus Herrick, 1879 (a calanoid copepod) ........................................................... 15
Macrobrachium ohione (S. I. Smith, 1874) (Ohio Shrimp) .................................................................. 16
Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) (Giant River Prawn) ..................................................... 17
Procambarus hayi (Faxon, 1884) (Straightedge Crayfish) ................................................................... 19
Crustacean References Cited .................................................................................................................. 20
MOLLUSKS ................................................................................................................................................... 24
Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 24
Species Accounts of Mollusks New to Region 4 ...................................................................................... 28
Dreissena bugensis Andrusov, 1897 (Quagga Mussel) ....................................................................... 28
Thiara scabra (Müller, 1774) (Pagoda Tiara) ...................................................................................... 30
Viviparus georgianus (Lea, 1934) (Banded Mysterysnail)................................................................... 31
Viviparus subpurpureus (Say, 1829) (Olive Mysterysnail) ................................................................... 32
Mollusk References Cited ....................................................................................................................... 33
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES ........................................................................................................................ 35
Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 35
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Species Accounts of Amphibians and Reptiles New to Region 4 ............................................................ 43
Bombina orientalis (Boulenger, 1890) (Oriental Fire-bellied Toad) .................................................... 43
Afrixalus fornasini (Bianconi, 1849) (Fornasini’s Spiny Reed Frog) ..................................................... 44
Kaloula pulchra Gray, 1831 (Malaysian Painted Frog or Chubby Frog) .............................................. 45
Pipa pipa (Linnaeus, 1758) (Suriname Toad) ...................................................................................... 47
Amphiuma tridactylum Cuvier, 1827 (Three-toed Amphiuma) .......................................................... 48
Cynops orientalis (Boie, 1826) (Oriental Fire-bellied Newt) ............................................................... 49
Pachytriton labiatus (Unterstein, 1930) (Paddle-tail Newt) ............................................................... 51
Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Cuvier, 1807) (Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman) ..................................................... 52
Crocodylus acutus (Cuvier, 1807) (American Crocodile) ..................................................................... 53
Eunectes murinus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Green Anaconda) ...................................................................... 54
Eunectes notaeus (Cope, 1862) (Yellow Anaconda) ........................................................................... 55
Erpeton tentaculatus Lacepede, 1800 (Tentacled Snake)................................................................... 57
Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima (Gray, 1855) (Painted Wood Turtle) ....................................................... 58
Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Snapping Turtle) .................................................................... 59
Macrochelys temminickii (Troost in Harlan, 1835) (Alligator Snapping Turtle) .................................. 60
Glyptemys insculpta (LeConte, 1830) (Wood Turtle) .......................................................................... 61
Staurotypus salvinii Gray, 1864 (Pacific Coast Giant Musk Turtle) ..................................................... 61
Apalone spinifera (Le Sueur, 1827) (Spiny Softshell) .......................................................................... 62
Amphibians and Reptiles References Cited ............................................................................................ 64
FISH ............................................................................................................................................................. 69
Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 69
Species Accounts of Fishes New to Region 4 .......................................................................................... 84
Phenacogrammus interruptus (Boulenger, 1899) (Congo Tetra) ....................................................... 84
Channa maculata (Lacepède, 1801) (Blotched Snakehead) ............................................................... 85
Channa micropeltes (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831) (Giant Snakehead) .......................... 86
Amphilophus labiatus (Günther, 1864) (Red Devil) ............................................................................ 86
Parachromis dovii (Günther, 1864) (Wolf Cichlid) .............................................................................. 87
Paraneetroplus melanurus x Paraneetroplus zonatus (hybrid cichlid) ............................................... 88
Paraneetroplus synspilus (Hubbs, 1935) (Redhead Cichlid) ................................................................ 89
Mylopharyngodon piceus (Richardson, 1846) (Black Carp) ................................................................ 90
Tanichthys albonubes (Lin, 1932) (White Cloud Mountain Minnow) ................................................. 93
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Apeltes quadracus (Mitchill, 1815) (Fourspine Stickleback) ............................................................... 94
Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (Tirant, 1883) (Chinese Algae-eater) ........................................................... 95
Atractosteus spatula (Lacepède, 1803) (Alligator Gar) ....................................................................... 95
Ancistrus sp. Kner, 1854 (Bristlenosed Catfish) possibly A. cf. cirrhosus ............................................ 96
Farlowella vittata Myers, 1942 (Stick catfish) .................................................................................... 98
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps (Kner, 1854) (Leopard Pleco) .................................................................. 99
Pterygoplichthys anisitsi Eigenmann and Kennedy, 1903 (Southern Sailfin Catfish) ....................... 100
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum (Cuvier, 1829) (Arawana) ...................................................................... 101
Polypterus delhezi Boulenger, 1899 (Barred Bichir) ......................................................................... 102
Tetraodon nigroviridis (Marion de Procé, 1822) (Spotted Green Pufferfish) ................................... 103
Fishes References Cited ........................................................................................................................ 104

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List of Figures
Figure 1. Number of new introduced species by taxonomic group. ...................................................................... 1
Figure 2. Number of new introduced species by continental origin. ..................................................................... 2
Figure 3. Number of new introduced species by vector. ........................................................................................ 2
Figure 4. Total number of introduced crustacean species by taxonomic group. ................................................... 5
Figure 5. Total number of introduced crustacean species by continental origin. .................................................. 5
Figure 6. Total number of introduced crustacean species by vector. .................................................................... 6
Figure 7. Total number of introduced crustacean species documented in 25-year intervals. (Note that the most
recent interval is only 12 years.) ............................................................................................................ 6
Figure 8. Total number of introduced mollusk species by taxonomic group. ...................................................... 24
Figure 9. Total number of introduced mollusk species by continental origin. ..................................................... 24
Figure 10. Total number of introduced mollusk species by vector. ..................................................................... 25
Figure 11. Total number of mollusk species introduced in 25-year intervals. (Note that the current interval is
only 12 years.) ...................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 12. Total number of introduced A, amphibian andB, reptile species by taxonomic group. ...................... 35
Figure 13. Number of new (since 2000) introduced A, amphibian and B, reptile (B) species by continental
origin. .................................................................................................................................................... 35
Figure 14. Number of new (since 2000) introduced A, amphibian and B, reptile species by vector. .................. 36
Figure 15. Number of new fish species to the region by year. ............................................................................. 69
Figure 16. Number of new fish species to the region and state of first occurrence. ........................................... 69
Figure 17. Number of new introduced fish species by vector. ............................................................................. 70
Figure 18. Number of new introduced fish species by continental origin............................................................ 70
Figure 19. Number of new state records per state 2001-2012. ........................................................................... 71
Figure 20. Number of new state records per year. .............................................................................................. 71
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List of Tables
Table 1. All nonindigenous crustacean species introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4. ......... 7
Table 2. All nonindigenous crustacean species introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 by
state. .......................................................................................................................................................... 9
Table 3. All nonindigenous mollusk species introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4. ............ 26
Table 4. All nonindigenous mollusk species introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 by state.
................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Table 5. All nonindigenous amphibian and reptile introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4. . 37
Table 6. All nonindigenous amphibian and reptile introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 by
state. ........................................................................................................................................................ 40
Table 7. New nonindigenous fish species introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 since 2000.
................................................................................................................................................................. 72
Table 8. All nonindigenous fish introductions into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 by state. .................. 73
Table 9. Fish species found as “new” in more than one state. ............................................................................ 83
Table 10. Sailfin catfish species sold as algae eaters to aquarists. ....................................................................... 83

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INTRODUCTION
The southeast region of the United States including Caribbean territories (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) Region 4) has a diverse fauna of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans, and at
the same time has some of the most imperiled fauna in the country (Williams and others, 1993; Taylor
and others, 1996; Warren and others, 2000; Jelks and others, 2008). In addition to habitat degradation
and loss, the region continues to have its waters inundated with exotic, or nonindigenous, species. Some
of these may be of little consequence while others may cause substantial harm.
This report is an update through 2012 and builds upon the information in a similar report of the
southeast region published in 2001 (Benson and others, 2001). The report is in the form of species
profiles which contain information about identification, habitat, reproduction, distribution, impacts, and
methods of introduction of each species introduced since 2000. This update is focused only on
freshwater animals (fish, crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians, and reptiles), whereas the 2001 report
included aquatic plants and marine animals.
A majority of the information for this report was derived from the U.S. Geological Survey’s
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database program (http://nas.er.usgs.gov), which tracks the distribution
of all non-native freshwater animals nationwide. For more information about the program and the
sources used in compiling the database, please visit http://nas.er.usgs.gov/about/faq.asp.
Overview of Region 4 Introductions Since 2000
There have been 49 new species introduced to Region 4 since 2000 (Figure 1). These are species that
had never been collected from any state or territory in Region 4. One hundred and sixty species were
recorded as new to a particular state since 2000. These are species that have been present somewhere
in the southeast region, but were
recorded in a state or territory where
they had not been previously
4
documented—indicating either spread
Fishes
7
of an established population or new
19 Reptiles
introductions. Two territories
Crustaceans
experienced the largest proportional
increases relative to the states in the 8 Amphibians
region: Puerto Rico (69 percent) and Mollusks
Virgin Islands (60 percent). In terms of 11
total numbers of species, the two
highest were Florida (47 percent) and
Figure 1. Number of new introduced species by taxonomic
Puerto Rico (36 percent). Fishes
group.
represent the largest taxonomic group.

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Nearly equal numbers of these species are native to South and Central America, Asia and Eurasia, or
other areas of North America whereas a much smaller fraction originates from Africa, and none from
Australia (Fig. 2).
3
South and Central
America
17
13 Asia/Eurasia
North America
Africa
16
Figure 2. Number of new introduced species by continental origin.
The two dominant vectors for species introductions are pet releases and aquarium/water garden
releases. If these two categories are combined into a single category as “pet trade,” this accounts for 35
species, more than one-half of all the new species (Figure 3).
1 1 1 Aquarium/ water garden release
1
2 Pet release
4 Escaped aquaculture
18
Hitchhiker
4
Unknown
Shipping
Bait release
Escaped farm
17
Food release
Figure 3. Number of new introduced species by vector.
Format of Species Accounts
The accounts are organized by taxonomic group. Within each group, they are further organized
alphabetically by family, genus, and species. The report focuses on the group(s) or subgroup(s) that have
been introduced the most and identifies the vector and source region of these species to more readily
identify possible management actions. Accounts are given for each new species found in the region and
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include the common and scientific name, a description of the native range and introduced range within
Region 4, distribution maps, and information on vectors and impacts. We decided to capitalize all
common names for consistency throughout the report, following convention used for fishes set forth by
the American Fisheries Society (Nelson and others, 2013) and the convention for amphibians and
reptiles as set forth by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (Moriarty, 2012). The names
of mollusks and crustaceans used in this report follow those set forth in Turgeon and others (1998) and
McLaughlin and others (2005), respectively. In the updated version of the Names of Fishes, common
names are now capitalized. All scientific names are followed by the taxonomic authority who named
them. When these names appear in parentheses it is because the genus has changed since it was
originally described. Authorities without parentheses indicate the genus is the same as the original
name.
For some species accounts, we used the common Web sites of AmphibianWeb, and Encyclopedia of Life
because of the lack of accessible primary literature in English for these species.
It was determined that introductions of several species had been overlooked in the 2001 report;
therefore, we included these omissions in this update.
Explanation of Maps
Distributions are mapped using river drainages to relate locality data within natural drainage systems.
River drainages are described by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC), a
nested classification that identifies hydrologic regions at many levels in the United States. When
possible, maps herein employ the 8-digit level HUC, where the species has been naturalized, collected,
or observed. Each account has a U.S. map that depicts its introduced range (dark brown shaded 8-digit
hydrologic units) across the entire country. Native ranges, when available, can be found on the maps,
they are shaded in light brown. There also are regional maps that allow a more detailed look at the
introduced ranges within Region 4 states. Large red circles aid the reader in finding very small hydrologic
units. Small symbols on the region maps represent locations and its shape distinguishes its spatial
accuracy: a circle is accurate, a square is approximate, and a triangle is a centroid. The color of these
symbols represents the status of the introduction at that location: red is established, blue is failed, and
green is unknown. States that are shaded entirely in pink represent an introduction in the state, but the
location was not specified in the source documentation. The distribution information in this report was
compiled from scientific literature, reports, personal communications, and natural history museum
databases.
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