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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Home / Aquatic Invasives / Fish and Other Aquatic Vertebrates / Asian Swamp Eel

Asian Swamp Eel

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Asian swamp eel
Asian swamp eel, adult - Photo by Paul Shafland; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Scientific Name: 

Monopterus albus (Zuiew, 1793) (ITIS)

Common Name: 

Asian swamp eel (ASE), rice eel

Native To: 

Asia (Prok 2000)

Date of U.S. Introduction: 

Early 1900s (HI); Mid-1990s (Continental U.S.) (NAS Database; Prok 2000)

Means of Introduction: 

Imported as a food source and for the aquarium trade (Prok 2000)

Impact: 

Competes with native species (Prok 2000)

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database: Point Map - Asian Swamp Eel
DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Provides detailed collection information as well as animated map.

Images

Google Images - Asian Swamp Eel
Google.

Videos

YouTube - Asian Swamp Eel
Google. YouTube; New Jersey Network (NJN) News Environment Report.

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Asian Swamp Eel.

Council or Task Force
Species of Concern Fact Sheet: Asian Swamp Eel
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.
Partnership
Global Invasive Species Database - Monopterus albus (fish)
IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
Invasive Species Compendium - Monopterus albus
CAB International.
The Quiet Invasion: A Guide to Invasive Species of the Galveston Bay Area - Asian Swamp Eel

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Galveston Bay Estuary Program; Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC).

TISI Inventory - Asian Swamp Eel/Rice Eel

Texas State University System. Texas Invasive Species Institute.

Federal Government
Asian Swamp Eel (Monopterus albus) Ecological Risk Screening Summary (Apr 2018) (PDF | 934 KB)

DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.

See also: Ecological Risk Screening Summaries for more species summaries

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database: Fact Sheet - Asian Swamp Eel
DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Provides distribution maps and collection information (State and County).
State and Local Government
Invasive Alert: Asian Swamp Eel (2009) (PDF | 67 KB)

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Division of Fish and Wildlife.

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species for related information
Nonnatives: Swamp Eel
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Academic
Introduced Species Summary Project - Asian Swamp Eel
Columbia University. Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.

Citations