First detection of invasive coypu, Myocastor coypus Molina, 1782 (Mammalia: Roentia: Myocastoridae) into lake Banyoles (Catalonia, north-east Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

The coypu (Myocastor coypus), a large semi-aquatic rodent native to South America, is reported for the first time in the protected natural area of Lake Banyoles. At the end of February 2020, an individual was sighted in the southern area of the city of Banyoles, specifically in the Terri river, and the device for the control of invasive species contemplated in Royal Decree 630/2013, of August 2, which regulates the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Alien Species. At the beginning of March this same individual was observed in the southern area of Lake Banyoles. It was shoot down on March 13 of 2020 in this zone of the lake. The arrival and establishment of the coypu in Lake Banyoles represents a potential threat for its native habitats or species such as: calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus habitat and freshwater mussels (Unio mancus, Unio ravoisieri). As in the case of other species of invasive mammals in the Iberian Peninsula, such as the American mink (Neovison vison) and the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), among others, the coypu is likely to spread to other Iberian basins, adversely affecting their native ecosystems and species if control measures for that species do not improve.