First record of the non-native isopod Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 in the english channel

Abstract

Specimens of the Asiatic isopod Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 were retrieved for the first time in 2019 from two harbours situated along the Normandy coast in the north of France: Le Havre (295 specimens), and Cherbourg (four specimens). Paranthura japonica was accidently introduced for the first time in Europe in the Archachon Bay in 2013 through oyster transfer. This species, native to the Sea of Japan, may have been introduced to the English Channel through the accumulated fouling of the hulls of ships used primarily for recreational purposes.