RICHMOND, Virginia - The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has charged a Richmond pet shop manager with violating a regulation prohibiting the possession and sale of exotic, non-native species without a permit.

If convicted, Christopher Backus, fish department manager of The Pet Club, could face up to $1,000 in fines for possessing and attempting to sell a snakehead fish. The fish was seized by game wardens.

Native to Asia and Africa, snakehead fish have no natural predators in the United States and pose threats to native wildlife communities in this country. The fish are capable of moving short distances on land and can withstand extreme weather conditions. They are sold in the pet trade worldwide and eaten as a food fish in many cultures.

A state biologist, on receiving a tip from a member of the public about the illegal fish, turned the information over to the department's game wardens for investigation. They found that the fish had been purchased at the same store before a regulation that added snakehead fish to the list of predatory and undesirable species became effective on January 1. The owner returned the fish the pet store, claiming it had grown too big for his fish tank. The pet store then put the fish up for sale again.

The fish was initially identified by a state biologist, an identification that was confirmed by Dr. Walter Courtenay, with the U.S. Geological Survey's Center for Aquatic Resource Studies and the country's leading expert on snakeheads. He verified that the animal was a cobra snakehead (Channa marulius). Dr. Courtenay worked with Maryland and North Carolina last summer in their efforts to identify and to eradicate snakehead fish in those states.

Game wardens also charged Backus with possession and attempt to sell another illegal exotic animal species, the clawed frog (Xenopus spp.). Wardens seized 10 albino clawed frogs. Backus is expected to appear in court on March 27.