A summary of the distribution of Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) twelve years after the first record in the American continent is presented. This species is together with Corbicula fluminea (Müller), the most successful invader bivalve to the Rio de la Plata system. Nowadays, L. fortunei could be found along the principal rivers of South America: Rio de la Plata, Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay in Argentina. In addition it was recently found in the other countries of the Rio de la Plata System: Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.The impact of the golden mussel in South America involves both the human and the natural environments. Larvae and/or juveniles go inside the water systems of the Drinking Water Plants, Refrigeration Systems of Industries and Power Plants in the human environment, then they settle and maturate producing macrofouling problems.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo