Rapid Expansion of the Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus (Centrarchidae) to the Don River Delta in 2023

The paper presents information about an outbreak of the pumpkinseed in the Don River delta in September–October 2023. Isolated specimens were recorded from the Svinoe Girlo arm of the Don at the end of August 2023. Additionally, 78 individuals of the pumpkinseed were locally harvested after a storm surge in the Taganrog Bay, affecting the Don delta. The individuals measured from 4.5 to 7.5 cm in standard length with weight from 2.46 to 12.98 g. This year’s brood and females at stage V of gonad maturity, as well as the post-spawn individuals, were detected in catches. An assumption is made about a possible pathway of the pumpkinseed penetration to the Don delta.