Barca snakehead

Barca snakehead
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anabantiformes
Family: Channidae
Genus: Channa
Species:
C. barca
Binomial name
Channa barca
(F. Hamilton, 1822)
Synonyms[2]
  • Ophiocephalus barca Hamilton, 1822
  • Ophicephalus nigricans Cuvier, 1831

The Barca snakehead (Channa barca) is a rare species of snakehead. It is endemic to the upper Brahmaputra River basin in northeastern India and Bangladesh.[2][3] Records from Nepal are of doubtful validity.[1] Overall it has been assessed as data deficient by the IUCN,[1] and in 2014 it was assessed as critically endangered in Bangladesh by the IUCN.[3] In Assam, it is locally known as cheng garaka or garaka cheng.

This is a relatively large snakehead, reaching a total length of up to 105 cm (3.4 ft).[2] The species is regarded as an excellent food fish,[2] and it is also highly desired by aquarists, but its rarity, behavior and large size makes it unsuitable for most aquariums.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Chaudhry, S. (2010). "Channa barca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T166596A6244166. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166596A6244166.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Channa barca". FishBase. February 2019 version.
  3. ^ a b "Details - Updating Species Red List of Bangladesh". www.iucnredlistbd.org. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  4. ^ SeriouslyFish: Channa barca. Retrieved 14 February 2019.