An established population of African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis (Daudin, 1802), in mainland China

Abstract

Reports of amphibian invasions are increasing, although it seems likely that there are more extant populations of alien species than we are currently aware of, and we are far from understanding their full environmental and economic impact. Here we provide data on another established population of African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis (Daudin, 1802); from Yunnan Province in mainland China. The site is an aquaculture area immediately adjacent to the northern shores of Lake Kunming. This report is significant as it is the first known alien population of an albino form of this species, the form that is most prevalent in the pet trade. We call for urgent surveys using eDNA to determine the extent of the invasion of this cryptic amphibian invader around Lake Kunming, as well as studies to determine the environmental and economic impacts at this site, which is already known for an invasion of American bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802).