Check List 18(3): 475-482, doi: 10.15560/18.3.475

First record of the Gangetic Swamp Eel, Ophichthys cuchia (Hamilton, 1822) (Teleostei: Synbranchidae), from Texas (USA) based on museum vouchered material, and confirmation of a second established non-native population in the USA

Alice Best^‡, Joshuah S. Perkin^§, Amanda K. Pinion^§, Hailey Binkley^§, Kevin W. Conway^§

‡ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, College Station, TX, United States of America§ Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States of America

Corresponding author: Kevin W. Conway ( kevin.conway@tamu.edu )

Academic editor: Mariangeles Arce H.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Best A, Perkin JS, Pinion AK, Binkley H, Conway KW (2022) First record of the Gangetic Swamp Eel, Ophichthys cuchia (Hamilton, 1822) (Teleostei: Synbranchidae), from Texas (USA) based on museum vouchered material, and confirmation of a second established non-native population in the USA. Check List 18(3): 475-482. https://doi.org/10.15560/18.3.475

Abstract

The native range of Ophichthys cuchia includes part of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Nepal. Ophichthys cuchia has also been collected within six states in the USA (Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and an established invasive population exists in New Orleans (Louisiana). We provide the first record of O. cuchia from Texas and the second report of an established non-native population in the USA based on 26 museum vouchered specimens collected from a series of urban ponds within the Houston metro area (Fort Bend Co.).

Keywords

Houston metro area, invasive species, North America