South American Suckermouth Armoured Catfishes Found In Tamil Nadu

Invading South American Suckermouth armoured catfish have been discovered by volunteers during the 13th Thamirabarani waterbird census in numerous water tanks. Environmentalists looked for efficient ways to reduce the population of African catfish since they believed the invasive breed was responsible for the extinction of many native fish breeds.

President of Pearl City Nature Trust J. Thomas Mathibalan reported that spotting suckermouth catfish in the Perur, Perungulam, and Srivaikuntam Kaspa tanks. He said that it has been reducing the population of the local species in the area tanks for the past few years. Uluvai, Chellapodi, Vilanku, Kulathuvazhai, Mankiluru, Pannichethai, Aral, and many other native species are no longer present in the irrigation tanks of the Thamirabarani River Basin as a result of the introduction of foreign fish.

Francis, a biology student at St. Xavier's College in Palayamkottai who participated in the survey, claimed that suckermouth catfishes are also present in the tanks in Tirunelveli that are fed by the Thamirabarani River.

A resident of Servaikaranmadam, claimed that 15 years ago, he used to catch indigenous fish from the Thamirabarani river, the Iruvappapuram-Peikulam, the Manjalneerkayal kulam, the Arumugamangalamkulam tanks, and the Chellakottan, Vannathi, Nattu Theli, Kuravai, Pothikutti Kokkumeen, and the These species, according to him, are no longer present in the Thamirabarani river basin.

Furthermore, the suckermouth catfish that can be found in the irrigation tanks is a native of the floodplain lakes and marshes of South America. According to scientists, the species is traded on a global scale as a fish waste and algae cleanser used in aquariums.