Introduction of the Ponto-Caspian Bloody-red Mysid Hemimysis anomala into the Lake Michigan Basin

Hemimysis anomala G.O. Sars, 1907, a mysid species native to the Ponto-Caspian region, was discovered during fall 2006 in the Lake Michigan basin. Large numbers of individuals formed aggregations (averaging 1,540 ± 333 individuals/m2) in a shallow docking basin connected to the channel linking Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake. The population included females (63%), males (35%), and juveniles (2%). The global invasion pattern in H. anomala is similar to that in another Ponto-Caspian peracarid crustacean, Echinogammarus ischnus. As with E. ischnus, the expansion of H. anomala in North America is anticipated.