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If you have played the “Invasive Species Super Sleuth” game, you already know 

what invasive species are and why they are a big problem (so you can skip the 

rest of this paragraph!). Just in case you haven’t played the game yet, invasive 

species are plants, animals, or other living organisms that are not native to a 

particular ecosystem and cause economic harm, environmental damage, or 

pose a threat to human health. Invasive species can seriously damage native 

species and entire ecosystems, and cost an about $138 billion per year (which 

is more than the cost of all other natural disasters combined). NOAA’s National 

Centers for Coastal Ocean Science are developing a group of experts that can 

help recognize alien species, hopefully before they become invasive. NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office and state fish and wildlife agencies are partnering with 

the pet industry in the HabitattitudeTM Campaign, which is about educating 

consumers about possible environmental consequences of aquarium and water 

garden hobbies, and how to be a responsible hobbyist. In addition, NOAA’s 

Community-Based Restoration Program works with community groups to remove 

invasive plants as part of projects to repair damaged coastal habitats.

You can help! Here are some pictures and more information about twelve invasive alien animals. You can use these images to make a twelve-sided object that 

will show these examples of invasive species. This twelve-sided object is called 

a dodecahedron (pronounced “doe - dek - ah - HEE - dron”). You can use your 

“Alien Dodecahedron” to help other people understand more about the invasive 

species problem. Once they start looking at the dodecahedron and the images 

on its twelve sides, you can tell them some of the facts about invasive species. 

Remember: Education and understanding are key to solving most environmental 

problems—including invasive species! 

What You Will Do

Make a dodecahedron that shows pictures of twelve invasive 

animals

Your Alien Dodecahedron

Courtesy USGS

Courtesy Leo G. Nico, USGS

Courtesy Justin Secrist, Washington DFW

Courtesy California Interagency Ecological Program
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What You Will Need

r Color copy of images on the “Alien Dodecahedron Worksheet”

r Copy of “How to Fold a Dodecahedron”worksheet

r Scissors

r Glue for paper

Warning

Be careful with scissors; they are sharp!

How to Do It

1. Carefully cut out the pattern on the “How to 

Fold a Dodecahedron” worksheet. Be sure NOT 

to cut the dashed lines!

2. Fold all of the dashed lines away from you 

(backward), then unfold and flatten the 

pattern.

3. Cut out the twelve images on the color copy of 

the “Alien Dodecahedron Worksheet.”

4. Glue the images onto the dodecahedron pattern. 

5. Fold the dodecahedron pattern along the 

dashed lines so that it makes a twelve-sided 

shape. Glue the tabs to keep the shape from 

unfolding. 

6. Now you have an Alien Dodecahedron! 

Look over the facts about each species on the worksheet. You will see that some alien invaders were 

deliberately brought to the United States for various reasons. Others arrived by accident, sometimes 

as part of “ballast water.” Ballast water is water 

that is pumped into large ships when they are not 

carrying cargo, so that they are more stable when 

sailing on the ocean. This means that water from 

one part of the Earth can be carried thousands of 

miles away before it is pumped out again. If small 

animals or larvae happen to be in the water when 

it is pumped into a ship, they get a free ride to 

another part of the world! 

You will also see that one of the biggest problems 

with invasive species is that they compete with native species. Native species are the organisms that 

are normally found in a certain ecosystem. Often, 

native species do not have good defenses against 

invaders. Species like the zebra mussel cause other 

problems when they attach themselves inside pipes 

that carry water in and out of factories or power 

plants. Some invaders are dangerous to humans, 

such as the lionfish that has spines that contain a 

powerful venom.

Show your Dodecahedron to other people and tell 

them about the invasive species problem. You can 

also play a game with your Dodecahedron: Players 

take turns, and the player who is “It” gently tosses 

the Dodecahedron onto a flat surface, then looks 

at the picture that is face down. Time the player to 

see how long it takes to correctly name the species 

and what damage it causes (or whatever other 

facts you want to include in the game). If the facedown image has already been named by another 

player, the player who is “It” tosses the Dodecahedron again until a new image is face-down.

Want to Do More?

See https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/

invasive-and-exotic-marine-species and https://

coastalscience.noaa.gov/category/stressor-impacts/invasives/ to find out more about invasive 

species and what is being done about them.

The National Invasive Species Information Center 

Web site, www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/index.

shtml has a lot of information about invasive 

species, including links to images.

Lionfish, Courtesy Paula Whitfield, NOAA
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How to Fold a 

Dodecahedron 

Worksheet
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Courtesy NOAA Restoration Center, Jim Turek

What Is It? 

A fish called an Alewife (also called mulhaden, 

grey herring, golden shad); its scientific name is 

Alosa pseudoharengus 

Where Did It Come From? 

Atlantic Ocean

How Did It Get Here? 

Deliberately introduced to Lake Erie

What Does It Do? 

Competes with native species

Courtesy Leo G. Nico, USGS, Gainesville, FL

What Is It? 

A fish called an Asian swamp eel or rice eel; its 

scientific name is Monopterus albus

Where Did It Come From? 

Asia

How Did It Get Here? 

Brought to the U.S. for aquariums and fish markets, accidentally released

What Does It Do? 

Competes with native species

Courtesy of California Interagency Ecological Program

What Is It? 

A crab called the Chinese mitten crab; its scientific 

name is Eriocheir sinensis

Where Did It Come From? 

China

How Did It Get Here? 

In ballast water of ships; possibly deliberately 

released

What Does It Do? 

Competes with native species

Alien Dodecahedron Worksheet

Alewife Asian Swamp EelChinese Mitten 

Crab
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Courtesy Paula Whitfield, NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and 

Habitat Research, Beaufort, NC

What Is It? 

A fish called the lionfish; its scientific name is 

Pterois volitans

Where Did It Come From? 

Pacific Ocean

How Did It Get Here? 

Brought to the U.S. for aquariums; accidentally or 

deliberately released

What Does It Do? 

Eats native species and has venomous spines that 

are poisonous to humans

Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Integrated Science Center]

What Is It? 

A fish called the Northern snakehead; its scientific 

name is Channa argus

Where Did It Come From? 

Asia

How Did It Get Here? 

Brought to the U.S. for fish markets; accidentally or 

deliberately released

What Does It Do? 

Feeds aggressively on amphibians, fish, birds, and 

small mammals; can survive in waters that contain 

very little oxygen and can travel across land

Courtesy Justin Secrist, Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife

What Is It? 

A mammal called a Nutria (also called a coypu, 

coypu rat, nutria rat, or swamp beaver); its scientific name is Myocastor coypus 

Where Did It Come From? 

South America

How Did It Get Here? 

Brought to the U.S. for fur production

What Does It Do? 

Damages vegetation and destroys wetland habitats

Lionfish Northern Snake- headNutria
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Courtesy D. Jude, University of Michigan

What Is It? 

A fish called the Round Goby; its scientific name is 

Neogobius melanostomus

Where Did It Come From? 

Eurasia

How Did It Get Here? 

In ballast water of ships

What Does It Do? 

Feeds on native species

Mouth of a sea lamprey

Courtesy USGS, Great Lakes Science Center

What Is It? 

A fish called a Sea Lamprey; its scientific name is 

Petromyzon marinus

Where Did It Come From? 

Atlantic Ocean

How Did It Get Here? 

Entered the Great Lakes through man-made canals

What Does It Do? 

Feeds on native species

Courtesy Dann Blackwood, U.S. Geological Survey

What Is It? 

An invertebrate called a Sea Squirt (also called 

an ascidian, colonial tunicate, or compound sea 

squirt]; its scientific name is Didemnum lahillei

Where Did It Come From? 

Europe

How Did It Get Here? 

In ballast water and attached to the hulls of ships

What Does It Do? 

Forms dense mats that smother native species

Round Goby Sea Lamprey Sea Squirt
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Courtesy of Ohio Sea Grant College Program

What Is It? 

A mussel called the Zebra Mussel; its scientific 

name is Dreissena polymorpha

Where Did It Come From? 

Eurasia

How Did It Get Here? 

In ballast water of ships

What Does It Do? 

Competes with native species, and clogs pipes of 

factories located on rivers and lakes

Courtesy of Julia Harding, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

What Is It? 

A snail called the Veined Rapa Whelk; its scientific 

name is Rapana venosa

Where Did It Come From? 

Pacific Ocean

How Did It Get Here? 

In ballast water of ships

What Does It Do? 

Eats commercially important bivalves, such as 

clams and oysters

Courtesy of California Interagency Ecological Program

What Is It? 

A crab named the European Green Crab; its scientific name is Carcinus maenas

Where Did It Come From? 

Europe

How Did It Get Here?

 In ballast water of ships

What Does It Do?

 Eats commercially important bivalves, such as soft 

shell clams and scallops

Zebra Mussel Veined Rapa Whelk European Green Crab