Flathead catfish—native to the Mississippi River basin—were first detected in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania in 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In the two decades since then, the ...

Flathead catfish, opportunistic predators native to the Mississippi River basin, have the potential to decimate native and recreational fisheries, disrupting ecosystems in rivers where they become ...

A study found flatheads occupy the highest level in the food web, forcing native species like smallmouth bass to change their diets. The invasive catfish are growing much faster and larger in the ...

The blue catfish’s population has become such a problem that the state recently initiated a Maryland Catfish Trail where anglers can target fellow invasive flathead catfish and snakeheads in an ...

Flathead catfish, once strangers to the Susquehanna River, have become unstoppable invaders since their arrival in 2002. Growing up to 70 pounds and over four feet long, they now dominate the food ...

Flatheads grow fast in this river system, attain large body sizes and can eat a variety of prey. Because adult flatheads have few natural predators, they can exert strong control over the ecosystem.

To determine what the flathead catfish were eating, researchers collected 576 of them over two years, with 241 individuals having recoverable stomach contents. The researchers extracted DNA from those ...