Notes on the discovery and ecology of the invasive armoured catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) and the exotic cichlid Amphilophus trimaculatus (Gunther, 1867) from Southern West Bengal, India

Abstract

This paper documents the first occurrence of the exotic, highly invasive, South American armoured sucker mouth catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) from the brackish waters of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India and the Central American cichlid Amphilophus trimaculatus (Gunther, 1867) from Southern Bengal, India. Notes on the possible threats due to invasion, sources of introduction, extent of spread and management of these and other invasive species are discussed in the paper