List of invasive species in California explained

Invasive species in California, the introduced species of fauna−animals and flora−plants that are established and have naturalized within California.

Native plants and animals can become threatened endangered species from the spread of invasive species in natural habitats and/or developed areas (e.g. agriculture, transport, settlement).

Animals

Invasive animal species include:

Mammals

• Black rat
• Nutria (also known as coypu)^[1]
• Fallow deer^[2]
• Axis deer (eradicated)^[2]
• Feral cat
• Feral dog
• Wild boar

Birds

• Common starling
• Red-masked parakeet
• Mute swan
• Rock dove
• House sparrow
• Eurasian collared dove
• Japanese white-eye
• Lilac-crowned parrot
• Yellow-headed parrot
• Domestic chickens

Reptiles

• Southern watersnake^[3]
• Northern watersnake^[3]
• Red-eared slider^[3]
• Brown anole
• Jackson's chameleon
• Italian wall lizard
• Mediterranean house gecko
• Spiny softshell turtle^[4]

Amphibians

• American bullfrog
• African clawed frog^{[5] [6]}

Fish

• Snakehead (eradicated)

Invertebrates

• Apis mellifera scutellata — Africanized honeybee
• Bactrocera dorsalis — Oriental fruit fly (eradicated)^[7]
• Carcinus maenas — European green crab^[8]
• Corbicula fluminea — Asian clam, golden freshwater clam
• Eriocheir sinensis — Chinese mitten crab^[3]
• Euwallacea fornicatus — Polyphagous and Kuroshio shot hole borers^[3]
• Linepithema humile — Argentine ant
• Liriomyza trifolii — American serpentine leaf miner
• Milax gagates — greenhouse slug
• Potamopyrgus antipodarum — New Zealand mud snail^[3]
• Pomacea canaliculata — channeled apple snail^[3]
• Solenopsis invicta — red imported fire ant
• Theba pisana — white garden snail

Plants

See main article: List of invasive plant species in California. Invasive plant species include:

• Aegilops triuncialis — barbed goat grass
• Acacia melanoxylon — black acacia
• Ailanthus altissima — tree-of-Vanessa
• Arundo donax — giant reed
• Carpobrotus edulis — iceplant
• Centaurea solstitialis — yellow starthistle
• Cirsium vulgare — bull thistle
• Cortaderia jubata — pampas grass
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis — red gum
• Eucalyptus globulus — blue gum
• Ficus carica — edible fig
• Fraxinus uhdei — shamel ash, evergreen ash
• Hedera canariensis — Algerian ivy, 'California' ivy
• Ipomoea indica — blue morning glory
• Ligustrum ovalifolium — 'California' privet
• Marrubium vulgare — horehound
• Mesembryanthemum crystallinum — common iceplant
• Nicotiana glauca — tree tobacco
• Pennisetum setaceum — fountain grass
• Ricinus communis — castor bean
• Rubus armeniacus — Himalayan blackberry
• Schinus terebinthifolius — Brazilian pepper tree
• Tamarix ramosissima — salt cedar, tamarisk
• Ulex europaeus — common gorse
• Vachellia tortilis — umbrella thorn
• Vinca major— periwinkle
• Washingtonia robusta — Mexican fan palm
• Zantedeschia aethiopica — calla lily
• Genista monspessulana - French broom
• Spartium junceum - Spanish broom

See also

• List of native plants in California
• List of invasive plant species in California
• List of invasive species

External links

• University of California Statewide IPM Program: Exotic & invasive pests website homepage — IPM = integrated pest management.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marshall . Sage . 2023-04-27 . Can California Eradicate These Giant Invasive Rodents from Its Wetlands? . 2023-04-28 . Field & Stream . en-US.
2. Web site: Non-Native Deer . National Park Service . 2017-09-10.
3. Web site: California's Invaders . California Department of Fish and Wildlife . 2017-09-10.
4. Web site: Alien Reptiles and Amphibians in California . California Herps . 2017-09-10.
5. News: Killer Meat-Eating Frogs Terrorize San Francisco . FoxNews . 2007-03-14 . 2017-09-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121019004238/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258519,00.html . 2012-10-19 . dead .
6. News: The Killer Frogs of Lily Pond:San Francisco poised to checkmate amphibious African predators of Golden Gate Park . San Francisco Chronicle . https://web.archive.org/web/20130606100110/http://sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/THE-KILLER-FROGS-OF-LILY-POND-San-Francisco-2610411.php . 2013-06-06 . live .
7. Web site: Bactrocera dorsalis (Oriental fruit fly) . Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International . 9 July 2019 . 15 October 2019.
8. Web site: The Green Crab Project . UC Davis . 2014 . 15 October 2019.