First records of alien crayfish of the Procambarus acutus species complex in Belgium

We present the first Belgian records of potentially invasive alien crayfish of the Procambarus acutus species complex, including the first confirmed record of P. acutus acutus. The species complex was observed at four different sites in three provinces in the north of the country. Only at one site the presence of a form I male specimen made identification to species level possible, based on gonopod morphology. The other three observations are considered as belonging to the P. acutus species complex. Procambarus acutus acutus is the fifth alien crayfish species known to Belgium. In Europe, it was previously only known as an established alien species from the Netherlands and Great Britain

Waarnemingen.be : non-native plant and animal occurrences in Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium

Citizen scientists make important contributions to the collection of occurrence data of non-native species. We present two datasets comprising more than 520,000 records of 1,771 non-native species from Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region in Belgium, Western Europe, collected through the website http://www.waamemingen.be hosted by Stichting Natuurinformatie and managed by the nature conservation NGO Natuurpunt. Most records were collected by citizen scientists, mainly since 2008. Waarnemingen.be aims at recording all species, native and non-native, and it is shown here that this kind of biodiversity portals are also particularly well suited to collect large amounts of data on non-native species. Both datasets presented here are also discoverable through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

The invasive Chinese mystery snail

In this paper we report the first Belgian records of the invasive Chinese mystery snail Bellamya chinensis. A walkover-survey along the Laak, a small lowland river, yielded a total of 20 live B. chinensis. The presence of both juvenile and adult individuals, with a shell height ranging from 16.6 to 47.5 mm, indicates that the species is firmly established. The most probable source of introduction is a nearby garden center that specializes in ornamental fish and plants for garden ponds

Corrigendum to: Mislabelling may explain why some prohibited invasive aquatic plants are still being sold in Belgium

Six taxonomic errors and one relevant taxonomic change were discovered after publication of “Mislabelling may explain why some prohibited invasive aquatic plants are still being sold in Belgium” Van den Neucker T, Scheers K. 2022. Knowl Manag Aquat Ecosyst 423:

The invasive Chinese mystery snail **Bellamya chinensis** (Gastropoda: Viviparidae) expands its European range to Belgium

In this paper we report the first Belgian records of the invasive Chinese mystery snail Bellamya chinensis. A walkover-survey along the Laak, a small lowland river, yielded a total of 20 live B. chinensis. The presence of both juvenile and adult individuals, with a shell height ranging from 16.6 to 47.5 mm, indicates that the species is firmly established. The most probable source of introduction is a nearby garden center that specializes in ornamental fish and plants for garden ponds