Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766)

	Muskrat	ISEIA: B3 – Watch List. IAS of EU concern.
	Bisamrat	EASIN
	Rat musqué	Wikipedia:
	Bisamratte	Wikispecies:
	Muskusrat	Back to the list of vertebrates

Contents

1 Report the species
2 Importance and distribution in Luxembourg
3 Risk assessment
4 Bibliography concerning Luxembourg
5 Suggested citation of this webpage

Report the species

→ Report Ondatra zibethicus to the National Museum of Natural History.

Importance and distribution in Luxembourg

Distribution map of Ondatra zibethicus Linnaeus, 1766 in Luxembourg. Recorder database, MNHNL, 01.07.2018.

The first documented occurrence of the species in Luxembourg dates from 1954. It was found by Marcel Heuertz on 17th August 1954 in Al Mudder in Pettingen (Municipality of Mersch). Since then, the species has spread and has achieved a nationwide distribution.

Overgrazing by muskrats can cause the local extinction of aquatic plants and the destruction of reed beds and of fish nursery areas. Due to its burrowing activity, the species degrades river banks and affects river flow. It can exert a strong predation pressure and threaten freshwater mussel and crustacean populations. It could also act as a reservoir of different pathologies and causes damages to agriculture. The muskrat is included in the appendix to the recommendation no 77 of the Council of Europe as a species which has proved to be a threat to biological diversity and for which eradication is strongly recommended (Source: http://ias.biodiversity.be/species/show/28).

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol: B3 (3+3+3+1) = Watch List (Ries et al. 2014: 199).

Bibliography concerning Luxembourg

Naturverwaltung (ed.), 2013. Jagbare Wildtierarten Luxemburgs. 96 pp.
Pir, J.B. & L. Schley, 2015. Développement des connaissances sur la répartition et l’écologie des mammifères au Luxembourg entre 1990 et 2015. Bull. Soc. Nat. luxemb. 116: 437-455.
Ries, C., M. Pfeiffenschneider, Engel, E., J.-C. Heidt & M. Lauff, 2014. Environmental impact assessment and black, watch and alert list classification after the ISEIA Protocol of vertebrates in Luxembourg. Bull. Soc. Nat. luxemb. 115: 195-201. [PDF 247 KB]

Suggested citation of this webpage

Ries, C. & M. Pfeiffenschneider (Eds.), 2018. Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766). In: neobiota.lu - Invasive Alien Species in Luxembourg. URL: https://neobiota.lu/ondatra-zibethicus/ [01.07.2018].

Last updated on Wednesday, May 9, 2018.