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Limnoperna fortunei is a freshwater bivalve that invaded South America through Río de la Plata estuary in 1989 and has since become a major macrofouling pest. Along the Paraná-Paraguay waterway, which hosts intense boat traffic, L. fortunei has moved upstream at an average rate of of 250 km per year. In contrast, along the Uruguay river, where boat traffic is restricted to the lowermost 200 km section, upstream colonization is almost 10-times slower. This suggests that attachment to vessels is by far the most important dispersion mechanism. It is suggested that the Amazon, Orinoco and Magdalena basins are under high risk of invasion by this mussel, especially through their estuarine gateways. All South American basins host innumerable water bodies with favorable conditions for L. fortunei’s colonization. Known ecological tolerance limits of the mussel also suggest that it may colonize much of the …