Channa amphibeus
Encyclopedia
The Borna snakehead, or Chel snakehead, Channa amphibeus, is an extremely rare species of snakehead
. C. amphibeus is native only to the Chel River (in the drainage of the Brahmaputra
), of the Bhutan
foothills, in northern Bengal
, India
.
As with all snakeheads, C. amphibeus is an aggressive predator. The fish grows up to about 25 cm (10 inches). C. amphibeus requires warm fresh water (about 22–28˚C) to properly mature, and access to atmospheric oxygen. It was reported that during rainy periods, young are found “in flooded paddy-fields enclosed by forest; large fish can be found in pools of dried streams in forests.” This is a manifestation of behavior common to snakeheads – they need atmospheric air, which they receive by way of a suprabranchial organ (a primitive form of a labyrinth organ). From a young age, C. amphibeus can survive in a low-oxygen water habitat, but if deprived of surface access, adult snakeheads can die from the lack of oxygen.
Due to its smaller size (in comparasion to other snakeheads), the Chel snakehead is slightly easier to keep in aquaria. However, there have been several episodes when snakeheads have been released into non-endemic environments, and the danger of the hardy, gregarious fish becoming a serious invasive species is very large (although for this species, this phenomenon has not yet transpired due to its relative rarity).
Alternate binomial
names include Ophiocephalus amphibeus. Names in northern Bengal include bora cheng (Mechi) and borna (Rabha
).
Channidae
The Snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to Africa and Asia. These elongated predatory fish are distinguished by a long dorsal fin, large mouth and shiny teeth. They breathe air with a suprabranchial organ, a primitive form of a labyrinth organ...
. C. amphibeus is native only to the Chel River (in the drainage of the Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
), of the Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
foothills, in northern Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
As with all snakeheads, C. amphibeus is an aggressive predator. The fish grows up to about 25 cm (10 inches). C. amphibeus requires warm fresh water (about 22–28˚C) to properly mature, and access to atmospheric oxygen. It was reported that during rainy periods, young are found “in flooded paddy-fields enclosed by forest; large fish can be found in pools of dried streams in forests.” This is a manifestation of behavior common to snakeheads – they need atmospheric air, which they receive by way of a suprabranchial organ (a primitive form of a labyrinth organ). From a young age, C. amphibeus can survive in a low-oxygen water habitat, but if deprived of surface access, adult snakeheads can die from the lack of oxygen.
Due to its smaller size (in comparasion to other snakeheads), the Chel snakehead is slightly easier to keep in aquaria. However, there have been several episodes when snakeheads have been released into non-endemic environments, and the danger of the hardy, gregarious fish becoming a serious invasive species is very large (although for this species, this phenomenon has not yet transpired due to its relative rarity).
Alternate binomial
Binomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
names include Ophiocephalus amphibeus. Names in northern Bengal include bora cheng (Mechi) and borna (Rabha
Rabha
Rabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is also of the same name. In West Bengal, Rabha people mainly live in Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district. Moreover, almost, 70 per cent of them live in...
).