Introduction
The following is an extract from a yet unpublished work by Stephen Bedford Clark
and Arthur Frisby that details the morphology, distribution and behaviour of
Snakeheads:-
Fish of the family Channidae (or commonly called Snakeheads)
comprise of two genera:
Channa from Asia and Parachanna from Africa.
These voracious predators are important food fish and frequently imported
for the hobby where they make impressive exhibits, frequently exceeding a foot
in length. Unhappily, the dearth of popular literature makes identification of
these imports problematical.
This difficulty is compounded by the dramatic colour changes these fish often
undergo during maturation and the inacurate labelling of many species in
popular literature. Accounts of their care in captivity are also scarce.
Fortunately where the fish are important economically or there is a dietary
dependance, their is an abundance of literature pertaining to their culture.
For instance, there are discussions here of differences between C.gachua and
C.orientalis, between C.maruliodes, C.melanoptera and C.marulius and between
C.pleuropthama, C.spiratus and C.lucia. There are also descriptions of the
different forms of the widespread C.gachua, C.punctata and C.striata.
The work ends with a compilation of meristic details, some of the commonest
synonyms and a comprehensive bibliography.
Naming and renaming of fish by authors, without correct ichthyological procedures
can often cause taxonomic confusion. Where species are dubious or interlinked
as sub species, suggestions have been made here and in subsequent years may be
proven by more competant persons. But one must always remember, no matter how
many times the name may change - the fish remains the same !
The authors would like to dedicate this work to our partners,
Angela Briggs-Clark and
Gwen Frisby.