First records of introduced carps (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) in the natural habitats of Mirim and Patos Lagoon estuary, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This is the first record in the wild of occurrence of four carp species (bighead Aristichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845), common Cyprinus carpio carpio Linnaeus, 1758, silver Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844), and grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idellus (Valenciennes, 1844)) in the Mirim Lagoon and Patos Lagoon estuary. Our findings reinforce the hypothesis that during periods of elevated rainfall and freshwater discharge, exotic species could be easily transported from overflowed ponds and lakes into the Mirim-Patos Lagoon and then estuarine area.