Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 46(4): 351-356, doi: 10.3750/AIP2016.46.4.07
Introduction and establishment of tropical ornamental fish, Pterygoplichthys spp. (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes: Loricariidae) in hot springs: Aquarium trade as a potential risk for biodiversity in Turkey
Ö. Emiroglu, F.G. Ekmekçi, S. Aksu, S. Baĺľkurt, A. Atalay, A.S. TarkanCorresponding author: Ö. Emiroglu © Ö. Emiroglu, F.G. Ekmekçi, S. Aksu, S. Baĺľkurt, A. Atalay, A.S. Tarkan. 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:
Emiroglu Ö, Ekmekçi F, Aksu S, Baĺľkurt S, Atalay A, Tarkan A (2016) Introduction and establishment of tropical ornamental fish, Pterygoplichthys spp. (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes: Loricariidae) in hot springs: Aquarium trade as a potential risk for biodiversity in Turkey. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 46(4): 351-356. https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2016.46.4.07 |  |
Abstract
The aim of this study was to report non-native tropical ornamental freshwater fish species from the PinarbaĹĽi Stream connected with hot-water sources in the Inönü Province (EskiĹĽehir, Turkey). The morphological characters and meristic counts indicated that the examined specimens were: Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991), Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelnau, 1855), and their hybrids. We also present the evidence of their reproduction and establishment. Successful invasion of these species was evident, as their young-of-the-year and juvenile individuals were caught during the samplings from the same water course. Finally, we discuss the management implications of these species.
Keywords
aquarium species, hybrid, reproduction, invasion, management measures