Dwarf snakeheads
Channa orientalis drawing.
Francis Day (1889): The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. (Fishes, Volume 1 and Volume 2).
Francis Day (1889): The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. (Fishes, Volume 1 and Volume 2).
Dwarf snakeheads is term coined by aquarists to describe a group of snakehead fishes growing only 10 inches (25 cm) maximum.
The following snakeheads belong to this group:
- Channa bleheri
- Channa burmanica
- Channa gachua
- Channa harcourtbutleri
- Channa orientalis
- Channa stewartii
In addition to those scientifically described snakeheads, several other undescribed snakeheads belong to this group. Those are (with trade names)
- Channa species five-stripe
- Channa species lal-cheng, also known as blue bleheri and Channa spec. Assam
- Channa species true-blue, also known as Channa species galaxy-blue
Besides their commonality of being of small size, two other features characterize this group more specifically.
- Zoogeographically, they belong to the Indian ichthyofauna
- This species are all but one mouthbrooders. Channa bleheri is the only nestbrooding species of this group.
Further information
- For further taxonomic information see Channa on Wikispecies.