BioInvasions Records (2014) Volume 3, Issue 2: 117–122 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/bir.2014.3.2.10 © 2014 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2014 REABIC Open Access 117 Rapid Communication First records of the European catfish, Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758 in the Americas (Brazil) Almir Manoel Cunico 1,2 * and Jean Ricardo Simões Vitule 3 1 Laboratório de Ecologia, Pesca e Ictiologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor Palotina, Rua Pioneiro, 2153, Jd. Dallas, Palotina, Paraná, 85950-000, Brazil 2 Programa de Pós-graduação em Aquicultura e Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor Palotina, Rua Pioneiro, 2153, Jd. Dallas, Palotina, Paraná, 85950-000, Brazil 3 Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Ambiental, Centro Politécnico, Curitiba, Paraná, 81531-980, Brazil E-mail: almircunico@ufpr.br (AMC), biovitule@gmail.com (JRSV) *Corresponding author Received: 18 November 2013 / Accepted: 6 May 2014 / Published online: 16 May 2014 Handling editor: Kit Magellan Abstract The European catfish, Silurus glanis is one of the largest freshwater fish worldwide. Although it originally inhabited rivers of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, this species is spreading within Europe, due to its popularity among anglers and interest in it as a potential species for aquaculture. This species has never been recorded in America until now. In August 2006, in the State of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil, the local newspaper “Diário Catarinense” reported, with a photograph, the capture of a huge catfish by an amateur fisherman in the Itajaí-Açu River, which was identified as S. glanis. In March, 2010, the Laboratory of Ecology, Ichthyology and Fisheries (LEPI) of the Federal University of Paraná received another individual of S. glanis that had died in a small pond next to the Piquiri River, in the State of Paraná. Our aim is to report these two independent and geographically separate records of S. glanis in South America, as well as highlight our concerns about the illegal transport of aquatic organisms, which is a serious threat to the conservation of natural resources, especially in megadiverse regions such as Brazil. Key words: non-native species, large size top-predator, aquaculture, recreational fishing, Siluriformes Introduction The human-mediated introduction of non-native species is one of the greatest global threats to fishes (e.g. species extinction, Clavero and Garcia- Berthou 2005), particularly the introduction of large top-predators in freshwater ecosystems (Vitule el al. 2009; Paolucci et al. 2013). The establishment success of these large non-native top-predators used in sports fishing activities is especially dependent on the assistance of anglers or on recreation facilities. This is a subject of great concern, because: i) freshwater ecosystems are heavily invaded by non-natives (Strayer 2010) and ii) due to globalization, the introduction rate of non-native fishes has rapidly increased in recent years (Copp et al. 2007; Gozlan et al. 2010). Since a large body size is an important characteristic linked to both game fish and invasive success (Donaldson et al. 2011; Vitule et al. 2012), the introduction of a large non-native consumer might result in negative effects, even before the establishment phase of the invasion process (Blackburn et al. 2011). Effects include the local extirpation of native species or individual- level sub-lethal impacts such as feeding behavior disturbances (Baxter et al. 2004) and parasite transmission (Pretender et al. 2004) that are difficult to detect. The potential negative effects on native species can be high, due to high longevity and more importantly, because of the lack of co- evolutionary history with native assemblages (Leopold 1939; Paolucci 2013). The European catfish, Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758, also known as wels or sheatfish is one of the largest freshwater fish worldwide with recorded