ANS Species List

Last Updated - April, 2020

Plants | Fish | Bivalves | Invertebrates | Pathogens

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department, with input from members of the Aquatic Invasive Species Committee, has created a listing of North Dakota aquatic nuisance species. The official list includes biota considered as a threat to the state’s waters; these ANS have caused known irreversible ecologic and/or economic consequences elsewhere. Negative impacts ANS may have on native North Dakota biota are likely given the following:

1) North Dakota’s climate and habitats appear favorable to the ANS, 2) the ANS has the potential to establish a viable population in North Dakota waters, 3) the ANS is likely to spread within North Dakota waters if a pioneering population becomes established, and 4) there are one or more existing populations of the ANS close to North Dakota and/or in a few instances, the ANS already occurs in the state. The ANS list for North Dakota is inclusive to any hybrids or varieties of the species listed below.

The North Dakota ANS list will be reviewed annually and adjustments will be made as deemed necessary. Revisions may include the addition of federally prohibited species, the deletion of species which are no longer considered threats to North Dakota’s aquatic environments, or the addition of species which have become a greater concern regarding the potential to establish and become detrimental in North Dakota’s waters.

North Dakota ANS are classified for permitting purposes. The permitting system is based on the need to control movement into or within North Dakota and allows for traditional use of select aquatic species. See ANS Classification System and Associated Permitting for details of the permitting system.

Printable List (pdf)

* Denotes a species that has been documented in North Dakota within the past five years and thought to still be present.

** Denotes a species last documented in North Dakota more than five years ago and no longer thought to be present

Plants

ANS Plant Species

Common Name	Scientific Name	Class	Species Information (click image to view)
* Curly leaf pondweed	Potamogeton crispus	2
* Eurasian watermilfoil	Myriophyllum spicatum	2
Didymo or rock snot	Didymosphenia geminata	1

Fish

ANS Fish Species

Common Name	Scientific Name	Class	Species Information (click image to view)
genera Channa and Parachanna (or their generic synonyms of Bostrychoides, Ophicephalus, Ophiocephalus, and Parophiocephalus) of the Family Channidae, including but limited to:
Northern snakehead	Channa argus	1
Blotched snakehead	Channa maculata	1
Bullseye snakehead	Channa marulius	1
Giant snakehead	Channa micropeltes	1
* Silver carp	Hypophthalmichthys molitrix	3
* Bighead carp	Hypophthalmichthys nobilis	3
Black carp	Mylopharyngodon piceus	1
** Grass carp	Ctenopharyngodon idella	1
* Common carp	Cyprinus carpio	3
European rudd	Scardinius erythrophthalmus	1
Round goby	Neogobius melanostomus	1
Tubenose goby	Proterorhinus semilunaris	1
Eurasian ruffe	Gymnocephalus cernuus	1

Bivalves

(e.g. mussels, clams, snails)

ANS Bivalve Species

Common Name	Scientific Name	Class	Species Information (click image to view)
Asian clam	Corbicula fluminea	1
* Zebra mussel	Dreissena polymorpha	1
Quagga mussel	Dreissena bugensis	1
New Zealand mudsnail	Potamopyrgus antipodarum	1
Faucet snail	Bithynia tentaculata	1

Invertebrates

(i.e. crayfish and zooplankton)

ANS Invertebrate Species

Type	Common Name	Scientific Name	Class	Species Information (click image to view)
Crayfish	Rusty crayfish	Orconectes rusticus	1
Amphipod	Scud	Echinogammarus ischnus	1	Species Information
Zooplankton	Fishhook waterflea	Cercopagis pengoi	1
Zooplankton	Spiny waterflea	Bythotrephes cederstroemi	1

Pathogens

(i.e. viruses, bacteria, parasites)