Ecological Risk Screening Summary - African Jewelfish (Hemichromis letourneuxi) - High Risk

Species that are considered high risk have a well-documented history of invasiveness in at least one location globally and are of establishment concern for the contiguous United States based on a climate matching analysis.

Rubricatochromis letourneuxi, African Jewelfish, is a freshwater fish native to northern, central and western Africa. It is a highly resilient species that thrives in both freshwater and brackish environments and can tolerate elevated salinity and low dissolved oxygen conditions. The species is common in the aquarium trade, which likely facilitated its introduction and establishment in Florida during the 1960s. Since then, R. letourneuxi has expanded its distribution and is now found throughout the southern half of the Florida peninsula. No other established nonnative populations are known with certainty, although introductions have been reported for Turkey and the Philippines. R. letourneuxi has been shown to reduce abundance of native fish communities in the Everglades of Florida, especially in years when R. letourneuxi is more abundant. Native fish populations are slow to recover even in years when R. letourneuxi is less abundant. Based on this species’ documented negative impacts where introduced in Florida, the History of Invasiveness for R. letourneuxi is classified as High. The climate matching analysis for the contiguous United States indicating establishment concern for this species, with the highest climate matches being found in the southeastern and southwestern United States. The Certainty of Assessment for this ERSS is Medium due to the ample information available on impacts of introduction but a history of misidentification of species within the genus. The Overall Risk Assessment Category for R. letourneuxi in the contiguous United States is classified as High.