Channa striata
| Snakehead murrel | |
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| Chiana striata, after Bleeker, 1879 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Channidae |
| Genus: | Channa |
| Species: | C. striata |
| Binomial name | |
| Channa striata (Bloch, 1793) |
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| Distribution of Channa striata. Source: USGS 2004[1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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The snakehead murrel, Channa striata, is a species of snakehead fish. It is also known as the common snakehead, chevron snakehead, and striped snakehead. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, and has been introduced to some Pacific Islands and Madagascar.
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[edit] Introduction
It grows up to 1 m in length, though because of fishing, this size is rarely found in the wild. It has a widespread range covering southern China, Pakistan, most of India, southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and most of Southeast Asia. It has more recently been introduced to the outmost parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mauritius. Reports beginning in the early 20th century that it was introduced into the wild in Hawaii, particularly the island of Oahu, are the apparent result of misidentifications.[2] The only currently confirmed Hawaiian establishment of C. striata is on a commercial fish farm. Popular media and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service were perpetuating this apparent mistake as recently as 2002.[3][4] Early- to mid-20th century reports and texts referring to its introduction in California appear to be the result of a misunderstanding.[5]
It is an important food fish in its entire native range, and is of considerable economic importance. Adults are dark brown in colour with faint black bands visible across its entire body. Males and females both help to construct a nest out of water vegetation during breeding time. Eggs are guarded by both parents. Fry are reddish orange and are guarded by both parents until they turn greenish brown at around 5–6 cm.
It is common in freshwater plains, where it migrates from rivers and lakes into flooded fields, returning to the permanent water bodies in the dry season, where it survives by burrowing in the mud.
It preys on frogs, water bugs, smaller fish, and it will attack anything moving when breeding.
[edit] Nomenclature
Common snakeheads are known as varaal (വരാല്)) in Kerala, India; viral (Tamil: விரால்) in Tamil Nadu, India and Sri Lanka; pla chon (Thai: ปลาช่อน) in Thailand;[6] gabus in Indonesia; and haloan, aruan, haruan, bulig, dalag, or "mudfish" in the Philippines.
[edit] Gastronomy
A curry made with this fish and tapioca is a delicacy in Kerala. In Indonesia, common snakeheads known as are a popular type of salted fishes in Indonesian cuisine. In the Philippines, they are commonly served either fried, grilled, or with soup.
Common snakeheads are very popular in Thai cuisine, where they are prepared in a variety of ways. Grilled, being a common food item offered by street vendors or in kaeng som. Pla ra, a fermented fish sauce popular in northeastern Thai cuisine, is made by pickling common snakeheads and keeping it for some time. There is also a Chinese sausage prepared with common snakehead flesh in Thailand.[7]
[edit] Medical use
The Bathini Goud Brothers in Hyderabad, India, promote the swallowing of live murrel fish and herbs as an asthma treatment, although the high court ruled they cannot call it "medicine". They give it free to children on Mrigasira Nakshatra. There is no evidence it is clinically effective, and children's rights campaigners have called for it to be banned.[8][9]
[edit] References
- "Channa striata". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=166667. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Channa striata" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
- ^ a b Courtenay, Jr., Walter R. and James D. Williams. Channa striata USGS Circular 1251: Snakeheads (Pisces, Chinnidae) - A Biological Synopsis and Risk Assessment. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 2004-04-01. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ Walter R. Courtenay, Jr., James D. Williams, Ralf Britz, Mike N. Yamamoto, and Paul V. Loiselle. Bishop Occasional Papers, 2004. [1] Identity of Introduced Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae) in Hawaii and Madagascar, with Comments on Ecological Concerns.
- ^ Akana-Gooch, Keiko Kiele. Hawaii snakehead lacks ferocity of mainland kin: A kinder, gentler fish, it poses no local threat to the environment. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 2002-07-28. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ Federal Register: July 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 144). Federal Register Online. 2002-07-26. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ Dill, William A., and Almo J. Cordone. Chevron snakehead, Channa striata (Bloch) History and status of introduced fishes in California, 1871-1996. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ Fishing in Thailand (Thai)
- ^ Recipes
- ^ "Indians flock for asthma 'cure'". BBC News. 9 June 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2974810.stm. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- ^ "SHRC moved against `fish medicine'". Times of India. 1 June 2011. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-01/hyderabad/29607946_1_fish-medicine-traditional-medicine-bathini-goud-brothers. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikispecies has information related to: Channa striata |
