Channa argus, Snakehead : fisheries, aquaculture, aquarium

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Channa argus (Cantor, 1842)

Snakehead
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Channa argus
Picture by Naseka, A. / Anokhin, B.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anabantiformes (Gouramies, snakeheads) > Channidae (Snakeheads)
Etymology: Channa: Greek, channe, -es = an anchovy (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Subtropical; 4°C - 22°C (Ref. 2060); 54°N - 25°N, 111°E - 141°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Asia: Amur southward to Xi Jiang and Hainan Island, China (Ref. 82587). Introduced elsewhere. Japan (Ref. 6094) and the USA (Ref. 51238) report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 30.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56557); max. published weight: 8.0 kg (Ref. 56557)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 49-54; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 32 - 38

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Can stay out of the water for 3 to 4 days at temperatures ranging from 10 to 15°C (Ref. 37350). Is a typical ambush predator that lies in wait for its prey on the bottom. Hunts mainly in the morning and in the evening, feeding primarily on fish (Ref. 12569). Matures at the age of 2 years and length of 30 cm. Spawns in June and July (Ref. 56557). Eggs are pelagic. Utilized for human consumption.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bogutskaya, N.G., A.M. Naseka, S.V. Shedko, E.D. Vasil'eva and I.A. Chereshnev, 2008. The fishes of the Amur River: updated check-list and zoogeography. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 19(4):301-366. (Ref. 82587)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 February 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Potential pest (Ref. 45309)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Aquaculture: production; Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
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Electrophoreses
Heritability
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Mass conversion
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Stamps, Coins Misc.
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Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture: production; Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00776 (0.00496 - 0.01215), b=3.00 (2.87 - 3.13), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.4   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 8.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (62 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.