Q.What is common to Lantana, Eichhornia and African catfish?

The three organisms share one critical feature: they are all invasive alien species introduced into India, not native to the subcontinent, and they pose serious ecological threats.

Lantana (a shrub), Eichhornia (water hyacinth), and African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were brought to India from other regions. Once established, they spread aggressively because they lack natural predators or controls in their new environment. Lantana invades forests and grazing lands, Eichhornia chokes water bodies by forming dense mats that block sunlight and deplete oxygen, and African catfish outcompetes indigenous fish species for food and habitat. …

The question asks you to identify what links three organisms that might seem unrelated at first glance: a flowering shrub, an aquatic plant, and a fish. The key lies in understanding their ecological status in India.

Lantana (Lantana camara) is a shrub with colourful flowers that was originally brought to India as an ornamental garden plant. It escaped cultivation and spread aggressively across forests, grasslands and wastelands. Today it is one of the most problematic invasive weeds in India, choking out native vegetation and reducing biodiversity in protected areas and forest ecosystems.

Eichhornia, commonly known as water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), is a free-floating aquatic plant native to South America. Introduced into Indian water bodies for its attractive lavender flowers, it multiplied explosively. Water hyacinth now clogs rivers, lakes, ponds and irrigation channels across the country, blocking sunlight, depleting oxygen, killing fish, obstructing navigation and choking water supply systems. It is often called the "terror of Bengal" because of the havoc it wreaked in the waterways of that region.

African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is a hardy, fast-growing fish species introduced into India for aquaculture because of its high growth rate and market value. However, it escaped into natural water bodies where it became a voracious predator, feeding on native fish species, their eggs and fry. This has disrupted local aquatic ecosystems and threatened indigenous fish populations.

Let's evaluate the options systematically: …

Classify each organism first (shrub, floating aquatic plant, fish) to rule out the mammal option outright, then ask of each remaining candidate …