Barca snakehead
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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.[1][2] Records from Nepal are of doubtful validity.[3] Overall it has been assessed as data deficient by the IUCN,[3] and in 2014 it was assessed as critically endangered in Bangladesh by the IUCN.[2] 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 Template:Cvt.[1] The species is regarded as an excellent food fish,[1] and it is also highly desired by aquarists, but its rarity, behavior and large size makes it unsuitable for most aquariums.[4]
Distribution, habitat and behavior
The barca snakehead is only known from the upper Brahmaputra River basin the Assam and Nagaland in India,[3] and Sylhet in Bangladesh.[2] Records from Nepal are of doubtful validity.[3] It mostly inhabits wetlands, often near the margins, but can also be seen in riverine habitats.[5][6] It is able to withstand large variations in water temperature and oxygen levels as its habitat experiences large seasonal changes in flood levels.[5] It often inhabits a vertical tunnel that typically is around Script error: No such module "convert". long and goes down to the water table. The tunnel ends in a chamber where the fish may spend the dry season when the wetlands above it disappear.[4] Some other snakeheads that inhabit the same general region as the barca snakehead have also been reported to "hibernate" during the dry season, including the closely related orange-spotted snakehead (C. aurantimaculata).[7] The overall conservation status of the barca snakehead is poorly known, but it appears to generally be a scarce or rare species.[3][4]
The species is highly carnivorous,[8] feeding mostly on fish.[5] Little is known about the breeding behavior, but like its nearest relatives it is likely a mouthbrooder.[4] Maturity may occur when only Template:Cvt long, but most individuals are around two or three times that size before they reach it.[5] The breeding season is prolonged and begins when the beels they inhabit are flooded by pre-monsoonal rain in April–May. The species has a low fecundity and both parents take care of the young.[5]
References
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- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "Cite taxon".
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- ↑ a b c d SeriouslyFish: Channa barca. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ↑ a b c d e Choudhury, M., and S.P. Biswas (2003). Maturity and spawning habit of an ornamental snakehead fish Channa barca (Hamilton). J. Ecophysiol. Occup. Hlth. 3: 149–152.
- ↑ Goswami, M.M., B. Arunav, and P. Janardan (2006). Comparative biometry, habitat structure and distribution of endemic snakehead (Teleostei: Channidae) species of Assam, India. Journal of the Inland Fisheries Society of India 38(1): 1–8.
- ↑ Gogoi, N., L.P. Hazarika and S.P. Biswas (2016). Studies on the reproductive biology and captive breeding of an endemic fish from Assam Channa aurantimaculata. Journal of Environmental Biology 37: 369–374. Script error: No such module "CS1 identifiers".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links
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