Scientific Name
Channa asiatica    

by: Fish Lab. RCBA
Nomenclater (Linnaeus, 1758) 
Family F487  Channidae
Holotype-Locality Asia 
Habitats Fresh Water  Economic Fish Yes 
Habitats Depth 0 - 10 M  Aquarium Fish No 
Poisonous Fish No  Edible Fish Yes 
Synonyms Channa formosana, Channa ocellata, Channa sinensis, Gymnotus asiaticus   
Reference Shen, S. C. (ed.) (1993). Fishes of Taiwan. Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei. 960 p. Tzeng CS (1996). The freshwater fishes of Taiwan. Taiwan Province Department of Education. Taichung. 183 p. Chen IS and Fang LS (1999). The fres 
Redlist Status Not in IUCN Redlist   
Common Name in Engulish Small snakehead 
Chinese Name transliteration ci sing li, yue li, gu dai, yue li 
Distribution in Taiwan North、Middle、South 
Distribution in World Taiwan、China、Japan 
Max Lenth  25 cm 
Specimen List  ASIZP0054364. FRIP00216. NMMBP04147. NMMBP04149. NMMBP04186. NMMBP05713. NMMSTP00726. NMNSF00003. NMNSF00066. NTHUB00621. NTMP0239. NTMP0605. NTMP0663. NTMP0775. NTUM00602. NTUM00605. NTUM06480. SIO69-375. SU18295. SU18296. SU18297. SU18300. SU23014. SU69818. SU7132Holotype. USNM00177452. USNM00177475. USNM00177482. USNM00191124. USNM00191131. USNM00191159. USNM00191161. USNM00191162. USNM00191171. USNM00191172. USNM00191177. USNM00191241. USNM00191242. USNM00191304. USNM00191312. USNM00191339. USNM00192925. USNM00192936. USNM00198938.  Download 44 records Download 44 records
Characteristic Head moderately large. Snout short. Mouth large and protractile. Lower jaw longer than upper, posterior end of upper jaw reaching posterior margin of eye, both upper and lower jaw with teeth. Barbell absent. Body cylindrical, posterior laterally compressed. Scales large and cycloid, scales on calvaria even larger, lateral line scales complete. L.l.：41-45; dorsal fin rays：27-29; anal fin rays：54-57; dorsal and anal fins long, pelvic fin absent, anus near anal fin origin, caudal fin round, dorsal fin origin above pectoral fin origin. Greenish or dark grayish, ventral surface lighter. Side of body patterned with 8-9 dark stripes in an arrowhead shape 「＜」, and the tip toward head. A black blotch on end of caudal peduncle. 
Habitats Prefer still water or slow-running river with lots of caves and aquatic vegetation to hide, can be found in paddy field, able to breath atmospheric air. Ambush predator, feed on small fish, shrimp and other aquatic creatures. No nests formed, but parental 
Distribution Native to southern China, including southward from Changjiang River, Taiwan, Hainan Island and Vietnam. Japanese populations were introduced. In Taiwan, its’ native habitats were restricted western portion of Central Mount Range (CMR) and southward till C 
Utility  
The information about Characteristic, Habitats and Utility was Prepared By Chin-Tsian Tseng, 12/1/2004