Channa gachua

Channa gachua
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anabantiformes
Family: Channidae
Genus: Channa
Species:
C. gachua
Binomial name
Channa gachua
(F. Hamilton, 1822)
Range map
Synonyms[2]
  • Ophicephalus gachua Hamilton, 1822
  • Ophiocephalus aurantiacus Hamilton, 1822
  • Ophicephalus marginatus Cuvier, 1829
  • Ophicephalus limbatus Cuvier, 1831
  • Ophicephalus apus Canestrini, 1861

Channa gachua, the dwarf snakehead, is a species of fish in the family Channidae. The name "dwarf snakehead" is also used for several other species of small snakeheads. C. gachua is native to freshwater habitats in southern Asia, where it has a wide distribution from Iran to Indonesia. This fish is considered to be a species complex, a group of several closely related taxa with one name. It is likely at least three to four different species, and further research may differentiate them.[1] A few species such as Channa harcourtbutleri have been separated from the complex in recent decades.[3] The easternmost population of C. gachua is often recognized as a separate species C. limbata , while the isolated Sri Lankan population often is recognized as C. kelaartii.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b Chaudhry, S. (2010). "Channa gachua". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T166123A6179047. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166123A6179047.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference fb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Ng, H. H., P. K. Ng, and R. Britz. (1999). Channa harcourtbutleri (Annandale, 1918): a valid species of snakehead (Perciformes: Channidae) from Myanmar. Journal of South Asian Natural History 4(1): 57-63.
  4. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Channa". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  5. ^ Conte-Grand, C., Britz, R., Dahanukar, N., Raghavan, R., Pethi-yagoda, R., Tan, H.H., Hadiaty, R.K., Yaakob, N.S. & Rüber, L. (2017). Barcoding snakeheads (Teleostei, Channidae) re-visited: Discovering greater species diversity and resolving perpetuated taxonomic confusions. PLoS ONE, 12 (9): e0184017.