Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Hypostomus plecostomoides (a catfish, no common name) - Uncertain Risk

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.

Hypostomus plecostomoides is a catfish native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins in Colombia and Venezuela. One source reports H. plecostomoides as introduced outside its native range, but no further information was available on where, when, or how introductions have taken place. H. plecostomoides is approved from export from Colombia as an ornamental fish, but no evidence was found to suggest that this species is in trade in the United States. However, unidentified species of Hypostomus are established in the United States. Climate match to the contiguous United States was low overall, with medium matches in southern Florida, southern Texas, and along the Pacific Coast. Because of the lack of well-documented introduction history and substantial taxonomic uncertainty, certainty of this assessment is low and overall risk is uncertain.