''Channa'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of predatory

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Channidae The snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to parts of Africa and Asia. These elongated, predatory fish are distinguished by their long dorsal fins, large mouths, and shiny teeth. They breathe air with ...

, commonly known as snakeheads, native to freshwater habitats in Asia. This genus contains about 50

scientifically described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it diffe ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. The genus has a wide natural distribution extending from

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in the west, to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the east, and parts of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. A particularly high richness of species exists in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

(Burma),

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and northeastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and many ''Channa'' species live nowhere else. In contrast, a few widespread species have been introduced to several regions outside their natural range, where they often become invasive. The large and medium-sized ''Channa'' species are among the most common staple

food fish Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Their meat has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients in the human diet. The English language does not have a s ...

in several Asian countries, and they are extensively cultured. Apart from their importance as a food fish, snakeheads are consumed in some regions as a

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

for wound healing and reducing postoperative pain and discomfort, and collected for the international aquarium pet trade. All snakeheads are highly predatory, and the diets of the various species of ''Channa'' include fish, amphibians (like frogs), snakes, rodents, birds, and invertebrates (insects and crustaceans). They have a

labyrinth organ The Anabantoidei are a suborder of anabantiform ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder are known as anabantoids or la ...

, which allows them to breathe air for short periods, and they use this adaptation to travel across land in the event that their habitat becomes inhospitable. They are mostly solitary or live in

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...

pairs that are highly aggressive towards outsiders of their own species, but ''C. pleurophthalma'' often occurs in small groups. Larger species are mostly nestbrooding (making a nest of vegetation at the water surface), and the dwarfs mostly paternal

mouthbrooding Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

, but exceptions occur; the large '' C. barca'' is a paternal mouthbrooder and the dwarf ''C. bleheri'' is a free-spawner (the eggs float to the surface where the parents take care of them, but they do not mouthbrood or built a nest).

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the genus ''Channa'' is incomplete, and a comprehensive revision of the family has not been performed. A

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

study in 2010 has indicated the likelihood of the existence of

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

of channids in Southeast Asia, and a more comprehensive phylogenetic study in 2017 indicated that several undescribed species exist in Asia (as well as an undescribed '' Parachanna'' in Africa). In 2011, the Malabar snakehead ''Channa diplogramma'' from peninsular India was shown to be a distinct species, 146 years after its initial description and 134 years after it was synonymised with ''C. micropeltes'', establishing it is an endemic species of peninsular India. The study also suggested that the species shared a most recent common ancestor with ''C. micropeltes'', around 9.52 to 21.76 MYA.

Species

Currently, 50 recognized species are placed in this genus: * '' Channa amari''

Dey Dey (, from ) was the title given to the rulers of the regencies of Algiers, Tripolitania,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine ''deys'' held office from the establishment of the deylicate ...

et al., 2019 — likely a synonym of ''C. brunnea'' * '' Channa amphibeus'' ( McClelland, 1845) (Borna snakehead) * '' Channa andrao'' Britz, 2013 * '' Channa ara'' ( Deraniyagala, 1945) * '' Channa argus'' (

Cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, 1842) (northern snakehead) *'' Channa aristonei'' * '' Channa asiatica'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) (small snakehead) * '' Channa aurantimaculata'' Musikasinthorn, 2000 (orange-spotted snakehead) * '' Channa aurantipectoralis'' Lalhlimpuia, Lalronunga & Lalramliana, 2016 * '' Channa auroflammea'' Adamson, Britz and S. Lieng, 2019 * '' Channa aurolineata'' ( F. Day, 1870) * '' Channa bankanensis'' ( Bleeker, 1853) * '' Channa baramensis'' ( Steindachner, 1901) * '' Channa barca'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (barca snakehead) * '' Channa bipuli'' Praveenraj, Uma, Moulitharan & Bleher, 2018 * ''

Channa bleheri ''Channa bleheri'' (the rainbow snakehead) is a species of dwarf snakehead that is endemic to the Brahmaputra River basin in the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.SeriouslyFishChanna bleheri Retrieved 11 February 2019. It is among the ...

'' Vierke, 1991 (rainbow snakehead) * '' Channa brahmacharyi'' Chakraborty, Yardi & Mukherjee, 2020 *'' Channa brunnea'' Praveenraj, Uma, Moulitharan & Kannan, 2019 * '' Channa burmanica'' B. L. Chaudhuri, 1919 * '' Channa coccinea'' Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui, & Lukas Rüber, 2024 * '' Channa cyanospilos'' ( Bleeker, 1853) * '' Channa diplogramma'' ( F. Day, 1865) (Malabar snakehead) * '' Channa gachua'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (dwarf snakehead) * '' Channa harcourtbutleri'' ( Annandale, 1918) (Burmese snakehead) * '' Channa hoaluensis'' Nguyen, 2011 * '' Channa kelaartii'' (Günther, 1861) * '' Channa limbata'' (Cuvier, 1831) * '' Channa lipor'' Praveenraj, Uma, Moulitharan & Singh, 2019 * '' Channa longistomata'' (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2012) * '' Channa lucius'' (G. Cuvier, 1831) (forest snakehead) * '' Channa maculata'' ( Lacépède, 1801) (blotched snakehead) * '' Channa marulioides'' ( Bleeker, 1851) (emperor snakehead) * '' Channa marulius'' (F. Hamilton, 1822) (great snakehead) * '' Channa melanoptera'' (Bleeker, 1855) * ''

Channa melanostigma ''Channa'' is a genus of predatory fish in the family Channidae, commonly known as snakeheads, native to freshwater habitats in Asia. This genus contains about 50 scientifically described species. The genus has a wide natural distribution extend ...

'' Geetakumari & Vishwanath Waikhom, 2011 * '' Channa melasoma'' ( Bleeker, 1851) (black snakehead) * ''

Channa micropeltes ''Channa micropeltes'', giant snakehead, giant mudfish or toman harimau, is among the largest species in the family Channidae, capable of growing to in length and a weight of . It is native to the fresh waters of Southeast Asia (South Indian pop ...

'' ( G. Cuvier, 1831) (giant snakehead) * '' Channa ninhbinhensis'' V. H. Nguyễn, 2011 * '' Channa nox'' C. G. Zhang, Musikasinthorn & Watanabe, 2002 (night snakehead) * '' Channa orientalis''

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

& J. G. Schneider, 1801 (Ceylon snakehead) * '' Channa ornatipinnis'' Britz, 2008 * '' Channa panaw'' Musikasinthorn, 1998 (Panaw snakehead) * '' Channa pardalis''

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, 2016 * '' Channa pleurophthalma'' (Bleeker, 1851) * '' Channa pomanensis'' Gurumayum & Tamang, 2016 * '' Channa pseudomarulius'' (Günther, 1861) * '' Channa pulchra'' Britz, 2007 * '' Channa punctata'' (

, 1793) (spotted snakehead) * '' Channa pyrophthalmus'' Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui, & Lukas Rüber, 2024 * '' Channa quinquefasciata'' Praveenraj et al., 2018 * '' Channa rakhinica'' Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui, & Lukas Rüber, 2024 *'' Channa rara'' Britz, Dahanukar, Anoop & Ali, 2019 *'' Channa royi'' Praveenraj ''et al.'', 2018 (Andaman emerald snakehead) — likely a synonym of ''C. harcourtbutleri'' *'' Channa rubora'' Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui, & Lukas Rüber, 2024 * '' Channa shingon'' M. Endruweit, 2017) * '' Channa stewartii'' ( Playfair ( fr), 1867) (Assamese snakehead) * '' Channa stiktos'' Lalramliana, Knight, Lalhlimpuia & Singh, 2018 * '' Channa striata'' (Bloch, 1793) (striped snakehead)

References

{{Authority control Channidae Fish of Asia Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli