Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.
The driftwood catfish, Trachelyopterus galeatus is a species native to South America. It can be found in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. T. galeatus are well-adapted to survive in hypoxic environments. Females have the capability of storing sperm in their genital track for months. The history of invasiveness for Trachelyopterus galeatus is classified as No Known Nonnative Population. There was only one record of introduction found outside of their native range. No information on impacts of introduction were found. This introduction was likely an aquarium release and does not represent an established population. The climate match for the contiguous United States was medium. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas all had high individual climate scores, while Arkansas, Arizona, Maryland, Oklahoma and Virginia had medium individual climate scores. The certainty of assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category for is uncertain.
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Uncertain Risk
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