Distributed in the freshwaters of Primor'e and is common in the middle and lower reaches of the Amur. This species was introduced into European Russia, where it is an invasive species dispersing from the Moscow and Nizhnii Novgorod regions through small bodies of water and eliminating indigenous fish species (Ref. 26334). In Amur, this species is historically known from the middle and lower Amur (from Tygda Rive down to the estuary) with tributaries Zeya, Sungari, Ussuri and the Khanka Lake basin. Reported from Shilka in the upper Amur where it is introduced (Ref. 82587). This species is also reported from the St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad regions (Ref. 26334) and northwestern Sakhalin (Ref. 37812). Dissections of specimens collected from Lake Glubokoe Reserve show that they consume a wide range of animal prey (Ref. 80031). They have been causing the decline of macroinvertebrates, non noxious (tadpoles) amphibians and indigenous fish in the area (Ref. 80031, 80047). Colonization of the species in the Amur resulted to a decrease in native species. The species took the place of eliminated native fish species in the food web of the Amur inhabited by semi-aquatic snakes and became part of the parasite system which included the snakes (Ref. 93666). This is used as bait, one of the reasons why it is widely distributed in Russia (Ref. 80038). Also Ref. 13397, 27683, 80031, 92840, 92840. EurRus