Abstract

With the objective to examine the introduction of Omobranchus punctatus in Venezuela, 56 specimens stored in three local icthiological collections were examined, databases and bibliography literature were consulted, and field work was conducted. This species of marine and estuarine habits is original from the Pacific and Indian oceans, and have being reported at some few locations in the Caribbean and the Atlantic ocean (Panama, Colombia, Trinidad, and Brazil). The species was first registered in Venezuela in 1961, at the location of Guiria (gulf of Paria). The ten found registration sites are located at the western (gulf of Venezuela, El Tablazo bay and strait of the Lake of Maracaibo; between 1978 and 2007) and the oriental ends (Pedernales, Orinoco delta; between 2002 and 2004) of Venezuela. A robust morphological similarity was observed between the specimens examined in Venezuela and the published information provided by Trinidad. The study speculates that the species was introduced by the water of ballast, coming from cargo ships that operate in the zone. The monitoring of this introduced species is recommended, as well as the study of its bioecology in both regions of Venezuela.

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