Biology:Barca snakehead
| Barca snakehead | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anabantiformes |
| Family: | Channidae |
| Genus: | Channa |
| Species: | C. barca
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| Binomial name | |
| Channa barca (F. Hamilton, 1822)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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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.[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]
Distribution, habitat and behavior
The barca snakehead is only known from the upper Brahmaputra river basin the Assam and Nagaland in India,[1] and Sylhet in Bangladesh.[3] Records from Nepal are of doubtful validity.[1] 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 one metre (3.3 ft) 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.[1][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 12.5 cm (5 in) 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Chaudhry, S. (2010). "Channa barca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T166596A6244166. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166596A6244166.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/166596/6244166. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Channa barca" in FishBase. February 2019 version.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Details - Updating Species Red List of Bangladesh". http://www.iucnredlistbd.org/Species/Single/FI0003.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 SeriouslyFish: Channa barca. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 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. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.1548.3763
- ↑ Rahman, A.K. Ataur (2005). Freshwater fishes of Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka.
External links
- "Channa barca". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=642748. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
Wikidata ☰ Q150496 entry
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