Big snakehead fish
| Big snakehead fish | ||||||||||||
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Great snakehead fish ( Channa micropeltes ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Channa micropeltes | ||||||||||||
| Cuvier , 1831 |
The Great snakehead ( Channa micropeltes ; synonym: Ophicephalus micropeltes ) is one of the largest species of the family of snakeheads .
features
Channa micropeltes (from Greek micropeltes "small scales") has the typical elongated body shape of all snakehead fish. It reaches a length of up to 130 cm with a weight of up to 20 kg. Young animals are initially completely orange, a little later they also show narrow black vertical stripes. With further growth, the orange color diminishes and the black markings become more dominant. On the flanks of adults there is a broad black stripe. The belly side is white, on the back the fish has a black and white irregular pattern. The dorsal fin runs almost the entire length of the body. The caudal fin is rounded and not notched. The anal fin extends about 1/3 of the body length. The pectoral fins are rounded. C. micropeltes has pelvic fins . The massive head is relatively large, the huge gap in the mouth is slightly above and reaches behind the eyes.
Origin and Distribution
The species inhabits the Mekong and Mae Nam Chao Phraya ( Chao Phraya River ) basins , the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra and Borneo . There it can be found in almost all types of freshwater. The fish can now also be found in the USA . It is considered an invasive species there and it is feared that it could displace native species. This is favored by their rapid reproduction.
nutrition
C. micropeltes feeds mainly on other fish and crustaceans. They eat almost anything that fits in their big mouth.
Others
Young animals of the species are occasionally offered as aquarium fish. The attractive coloring of the young sometimes tempts to buy these fish. However, the animals quickly become too big for keeping in the home aquarium. This fish is a popular species with sport anglers. In their homeland the fish are used as food fish.
Web links
- Big snakehead fish on Fishbase.org (English)
- Channa micropeltes inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Endangered Species . Posted by: Allen, D., 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ^ Jörg Töpfer, Frank Schäfer: Channa micropeltes. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 212.
- ^ NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species. United States Geological Survey , January 26, 2017, accessed February 21, 2018 .