Species that are considered high risk have a well-documented history of invasiveness in at least one location globally, and a high or medium climate match to the contiguous United States.
The history of invasiveness for Trichogaster lalius is high. There are many records of introduction but most of them do not seem to have resulted in an established population. This species has been shown to transmit infectious diseases that have significant detrimental effects on threatened species in Australia. The climate match was medium with the highest match in Florida, where there are already established populations of this species. The certainty of assessment is medium. The overall risk assessment category is high.
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High Risk
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