Invasive animals are introduced multicellular organisms of the kingdom Animalia, such as mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. Invasive aquatic animal species are included in the Aquatic Species - Aquatic Animals section.

• Legal Definitions - Executive Order 13112
  USDA. NAL. National Invasive Species Information Center.
• Invasive Species Definition Clarification and Guidance White Paper (PDF | 104 KB)
  Submitted by the Definitions Subcommittee of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC)
  Approved by ISAC Apr 27, 2006
• Invasive Alien Species Concepts, Terms and Context (IAS-CTC)
  CAB International.

Use our Animals Custom Search Engine to search for invasive species information included in this section of NISIC's site:

Listed below are the animal species for which we have completed species profiles - general information about animal species commonly known as invasive. This is not a list of all invasive animal species, nor does it have any regulatory implications. These profiles are provided as an educational informational tool.

Invertebrate Species
Invertebrate species are animals which have hard shells called exoskeletons instead of internal bones, specifically a backbone or spine. Example species include: spiders and other insects; squids; sponges; flatworms; jellyfish; roundworms; segmented worms; and others. Invertebrate species make up to 97% of all animal species.

Africanized Honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata)
Asian Long-Horned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)
Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)
Cactus Moth (Cactoblastis cactorum)
Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)
European Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Formosan Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica)
Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata)
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae)
Pink Hibiscus Mealybug (Maconellicoccus hirsutus)
Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta)
Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia)
Silverleaf Whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii)

Vertebrate Species
Vertebrate species are animals with backbones or spinal columns. Example species include: bony fish; sharks; rays; amphibians; reptiles; mammals; and birds. In some cases closely related species lacking a backbone such as hagfish with a bony skull called a cranium are included in the group. To date this group includes as many as 58,000 species ranging in size from a small carp of 0.3 inches to 110 feet for the Blue Whale.

Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)
Cane Toad (Bufo marinus)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)