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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nipun.max" data-source="post: 21815255" data-attributes="member: 309724">Introduced Hypostomus and Pterygoplichthys sp. may be  consumed by birds (cormorants, herons and pelicans),  alligators/crocodilians, otters, aquatic snakes, freshwater turtles and  predatory fish including larger catfishes and largemouth bass  (Lopez-Fernandez and Winemiller, 2005; Nico, 2010; Galveston Bay Estuary  Program, 2015). Galveston Bay Estuary Program (2015) displays images of  cormorants feeding on Pterygoplichthys spp. in Houston, Texas.      Many predators have difficulty swallowing Hypostomus and Pterygoplichthys sp.  due to the fishes' spines and body armour, and it has been observed  that birds (pelicans) have died attempting to swallow large specimens  (Hoover et al., 2004). An adaptation to reduce predation is the  defensive posture exhibited by these fish when they are handled or  threatened: the fin spines are erected and the fins are expanded, making  the fish larger and more difficult to swallow (Hoover et al., 2014).</blockquote>

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