| Cercopagis pengoi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Cercopagis pengoi (above, total length 10 mm) and Bythotrephes longimanus (below) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Branchiopoda |
| Subclass: | Phyllopoda |
| Superorder: | Diplostraca |
| Order: | Onychopoda |
| Family: | Cercopagididae |
| Genus: | Cercopagis |
| Species: | C. pengoi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cercopagis pengoi (Ostroumov, 1891) [1]
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Cercopagis pengoi, or the fishhook waterflea, is a species of planktonic cladoceran crustaceans that is native in the brackish fringes of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.[2] In recent decades it has spread as an invasive species to some freshwater waterways and reservoirs of Eastern Europe and to the brackish Baltic Sea. Further it was introduced in ballast water to the Great Lakes of North America and a number of adjacent lakes, and has become a pest classified among the 100 worst invasive species of the world.[2]
Cercopagis pengoi is a predatory cladoceran and thus a competitor to other planktivorous invertebrates and smaller fishes. On the other hand, it has provided a new food source for planktivorous fishes. It is also a nuisance to fisheries as it tends to clog nets and fishing gear.[3]
- ^ "Cercopagis pengoi". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ a b "Cercopagis pengoi". 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Species. November 28, 2006.
- ^ Birnbaum, C. (2006): Cercopagis pengoi Archived October 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. NOBANIS – Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet.