Silurus glanis in Italy

[bekateen]

Mancini, E., Tiralongo, F., Coccia, F. C., Pieracci, D., Tentoni, E., Ceci, M., & Cerioni, S. (2022). The wels catfish Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758 (Actinopterygii Siluriformes) in Italian waters: a review with first report in the Bolsena lake (Italy). Biodiversity Journal, 13 (3): 673–684
https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2022.13.3.673.684
PDF: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fr ... -Italy.pdf

ABSTRACT
The wels catfish

Silurus glanis

Linnaeus, 1758 (Actinopterygii Siluriformes) is the largest freshwater fish in the European waters and is considered a generalist predator capable of rapidly adapting both to new habitat and to new prey sources. This alloctonous species affects various ecological groups and its presence can generate adverse effects on native fish communities. In Italian waters, S. glanis was introduced since the first decades of the XX century and to date is reported in several rivers and within some lakes. In August 2020, a single specimen of S. glanis was caught by trammel net off Bolsena lake by professional fishermen; the specimen has been donated to the C.I.R.S.Pe. (Italian Fishery Research and Studies Center). In laboratory the individual was identified, photographed, and the stomach content was analyzed. In this work, we report the presence of S. glanis in the Bolsena lake, the largest volcanic lake in Europe and besides we provide a systematic review on the presence of the species in
the Italian freshwater.

Key words: Invasive species; freshwater; lakes; biological invasions; Italian waters.

[Bas Pels]

In the Netherlands Siluris glanis, native, is protected. I always assumed it was native all over Europe, but apparently it is not. This way, it can be an invasive species in Italy - only one day driving away.