New photo The 66 alien plants and animals set to invade Britain

Britain is under threat from more than 66 alien plant and animal species headed our way, experts warn, including a monster seaweed and a killer catfish.

The ‘codium parvulum’ seaweed was recorded creating a giant mass weighing 6,000 tons off the coast of Israel.

Now researchers warn it and other invasive animal and plant species - including a venomous catfish that has been known to kill humans - could be coming our way.

Other animals flagged up as posing a threat to native UK wildlife include the fox squirrel - the biggest squirrel in north America - which can bully and out-compete existing grey and red squirrels.

The monster codium parvulum seaweed (pictured above) is said to be heading to the UK

Another feared interlopers include the highly aggressive rusty crayfish which experts say could wipe out our domestic, endangered varieties of crayfish.

Topping the list is the Northern Snakehead - a Chinese fish that can even wriggle across mud - and is seen as a threat to domestic fish in the UK.

With its razorsharp teeth and highly aggressive behavior it could easily decimate existing fish populations.

The Quagga mussel (pictured above) was listed as the most likely invader to the UK

One of the fish was caught in 2008 on the River Witham in Lincolnshire (pictured above)

One of the fish was caught in 2008 on the River Witham in Lincolnshire - thought to have been illegally imported for an aquarium before being released.

Northern Snakehead are already infesting rivers in the US - in Florida and Washington DC.

The last time a similar exercise was carried out - in 2013 - the Quagga mussel was listed as the most likely invader to the UK.

The Northern Snakehead (pictured above) is a threat to UK fish 

It was spotted in the UK within just 12 months.

Professor Helen Roy of the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Professor Juliet Brodie, Merit researcher at the Natural History Museum consulted with experts across Europe.

They identified 329 potential alien species that could pose a threat to the UK.

Other animals flagged up as posing a threat to native UK wildlife include the fox squirrel (pictured above)

Professor Juliet Brodie, of the Natural History Museum, said ‘We know the sorts of impacts invasive alien species can cause. The green seaweed Codium parvulum, for example, has been reported to produce massive drifts c. 10 km long by 3 km wide and 20 cm thick, weighing an approximate 6000 tons.’

Among others include the striped eel catfish which has poisonous spines on its fins that ‘are dangerous, and even fatal in rare cases’ according to anglers’ reference work Fishbase.

The creatures pose a threat to the entire EU, the researchers say.

A venomous catfish (pictured above) that has been known to kill humans - could be coming our way

A similar list produced in 2013, listing potential animal and plant invaders found that within two years of publications, seven of the species ranked within the top ten had been recorded in Great Britain.

‘Most notably, the quagga mussel, which was given the maximum scores for risk of arrival, establishment and impact and accordingly ranked in top position was reported in October 2014,’ the authors write.

The research has been published in the journal Global Change Biology.

WHAT IS AN INVASIVE SPECIES?

An invasive species is one – be it animal, plant, microbe, etc – that has been introduced to a region it is not native to.

Typically, human activity is to blame for their transport, be it accidental or intentional.

Hammerhead flatworms have become invasive in many parts of the world. They feast on native earthworms, as shown

Sometimes species hitch a ride around the world with cargo shipments and other means of travel.

And, others escape or are released into the wild after being held as pets. A prime example of this is the Burmese python in the Florida Everglades.

Plants such as Japanese knotweed have seen a similar fate; first propagated for the beauty in Europe and the US, their rapid spread has quickly turned them into a threat to native plant species.

Climate change is also helping to drive non-local species into new areas, as plants begin to thrive in regions they previously may not have, and insects such as the mountain pine beetle take advantage of drought-weakened plants, according to NWF.

 

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News Pictures The 66 alien plants and animals set to invade Britain

You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!

TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st

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Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”

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kim cattrall

Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb

SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.

Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
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