Snakehead fish in india Patch#

pleurophthalma, by the presence of gular scales, a patch of scales between the anterior tips of the lower jaws, visible in ventral view. It further differs from all other Channa species, except C. The Malabar snakehead differs from all other species in the genus by its high number of lateral line scales (103–105 vs. It is known from the Meenachil, Manimala, Pampa, Achenkovil and Kallada Rivers (and their reservoirs) in Kerala, as well as the Chittar and Tambaraparani Rivers (and their reservoirs) in Tamil Nadu. The Malabar snakehead is endemic to the southern Western Ghats of peninsular India. All these specimen in different color phases occur sympatrically and use the same ecological habitats. The different specimens are also known by different vernacular names ( pulivaka, karivaka, manalvaka, and charalvaka). diplogramma shows multiple color phases during its life history, which makes local fishers believe that they are different species. diplogramma was shown to be a valid species 134 years after it was synonymised, making it an endemic species of peninsular India. The close similarity, rarity of adult specimens in museum collections, and because no taxonomist had studied this snakehead since its description, resulted in the subsequent acceptance of the synonymy by ichthyologists. micropeltes, originally described by Cuvier and Valenciennes from Java, Indonesia. The color pattern of this juvenile matched with that of juveniles of another species of snakehead, O. Sir Francis Day described Ophiocephalus diplogramma in 1865 based on one juvenile specimen (42 mm in length) collected near the mouth of the Cochin River in the port city of Cochin (southwestern India), and called it Malabar snakehead. Until 2011, its scientific name was usually considered to be a synonym of C.

The Malabar snakehead ( Channa diplogramma) is a vulnerable species of snakehead from fresh water in the Western Ghats in India.