Documenting the introduction of an alien catfish species in Moldova, suggesting environmental suitability.
This is the first find of a single specimen of the vermiculated sailfin catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) caught in September 2025 in the Cuciurgan (Kuchurgan) Reservoir, a cooling pond of the Moldavskaya District Power Station (GRES); the species is alien to the inland waters of Moldova and Pridnestrovie. The fish is 38.5 cm in the total length and weighs 585 g. Its condition factor (2.062) suggests favorable environmental conditions in the reservoir for this species. Inadvertent release or introduction by the aquarists is possible as a pathway.
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Filipenko et al. (2026) studied this question.
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