Channa is a genus of predatory fish in the family Channidae, commonly known as snakeheads, native to freshwater habitats in Asia. This genus contains about 50 scientifically described species. The genus has a wide natural distribution extending from Iraq in the west, to Indonesia and China in the east, and parts of Siberia in the Far East. A particularly high richness of species exists in Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh and northeastern India, and many Channa species live nowhere else. In contrast, a few widespread species have been introduced to several regions outside their natural range, where they often become invasive. The large and medium-sized Channa species are among the most common staple food fish in several Asian countries, and they are extensively cultured. Apart from their importance as a food fish, snakeheads are consumed in some regions as a traditional medicine for wound healing and reducing postoperative pain and discomfort,
All snakeheads are highly predatory, and the diets of the various species of Channa include fish, amphibians (like frogs), snakes, rodents, birds, and invertebrates (insects and crustaceans).
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In Assamese, it is called goroi. In Malayalam it is called varal or braal. In Bhojpuri, it is called garai. In the Magahi language, it is called garai. Since the fish can survive in marshy land, which is not a habitat for normal fishes, Magahi phrases include gadal garai. This is used to describe a person who looks simple but is shrewd. -->
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the genus Channa is incomplete, and a comprehensive revision of the family has not been performed. A phylogenetic study in 2010 has indicated the likelihood of the existence of undescribed species of channids in Southeast Asia, and a more comprehensive phylogenetic study in 2017 indicated that several undescribed species exist in Asia (as well as an undescribed Parachanna in Africa). In 2011, the Malabar snakehead Channa diplogramma from peninsular India was shown to be a distinct species, 146 years after its initial description and 134 years after it was synonymised with C. micropeltes, establishing it is an endemic species of peninsular India. The study also suggested that the species shared a most recent common ancestor with C. micropeltes, around 9.52 to 21.76 MYA.
Species
thumb|[[Channa andrao]]
thumb|[[Channa argus]]
thumb|[[Channa aurantimaculata]]
thumb|[[Channa pleurophthalma]]
thumb|[[Channa pulchra]]
Currently, 50 recognized species are placed in this genus:
- Channa amari <small>Dey et al., 2019</small> — likely a synonym of C. brunnea
- Channa amphibeus <small>(McClelland, 1845)</small> (Borna snakehead)
- Channa andrao <small>Britz, 2013</small>
- Channa ara <small>(Deraniyagala, 1945)</small>
- Channa argus <small>(Cantor, 1842)</small> (northern snakehead)
- Channa aristonei
- Channa asiatica <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> (small snakehead)
- Channa aurantimaculata <small>Musikasinthorn, 2000</small> (orange-spotted snakehead)
- Channa aurantipectoralis <small>Lalhlimpuia, Lalronunga & Lalramliana, 2016</small>
- Channa auroflammea <small>Adamson, Britz and S. Lieng, 2019</small>
- Channa aurolineata <small>(F. Day, 1870)</small>
- Channa bankanensis <small>(Bleeker, 1853)</small>
- Channa baramensis <small>(Steindachner, 1901)</small>
- Channa barca <small>(F. Hamilton, 1822)</small> (barca snakehead)
- Channa bipuli <small>Praveenraj, Uma, Moulitharan & Bleher, 2018</small>
- Channa bleheri <small>Vierke, 1991</small> (rainbow snakehead)
- Channa brahmacharyi <small>Chakraborty, Yardi & Mukherjee, 2020</small>
- Channa brunnea<!-- aka Channa amari Dey et al., 2019 --> <small>Praveenraj, Uma, Moulitharan & Kannan, 2019</small>
- Channa burmanica <small>B. L. Chaudhuri, 1919</small>
- Channa coccinea <small>Britz, H. H. Tan & Rüber, 2024</small>
- Channa cyanospilos <small>(Bleeker, 1853)</small>
- Channa diplogramma <small>(F. Day, 1865)</small> (Malabar snakehead)
- Channa gachua <small>(F. Hamilton, 1822)</small> (dwarf snakehead)
- Channa harcourtbutleri <small>(Annandale, 1918)</small> (Burmese snakehead)
- Channa hoaluensis <small>Nguyen, 2011</small>
- Channa longistomata <small>(Nguyen & Nguyen, 2012)</small>
- Channa lucius <small>(G. Cuvier, 1831)</small> (forest snakehead)
- Channa maculata <small>(Lacépède, 1801)</small> (blotched snakehead)
- Channa marulioides <small>(Bleeker, 1851)</small> (emperor snakehead)
- Channa marulius <small>(F. Hamilton, 1822)</small> (great snakehead)
- Channa melanoptera <small>(Bleeker, 1855)</small>
- Channa melanostigma <small>Geetakumari & Vishwanath Waikhom, 2011</small>
- Channa melasoma <small>(Bleeker, 1851)</small> (black snakehead)
- Channa micropeltes <small>(G. Cuvier, 1831)</small> (giant snakehead)
- Channa ninhbinhensis <small>V. H. Nguyễn, 2011</small>
- Channa nox <small>C. G. Zhang, Musikasinthorn & Watanabe, 2002</small> (night snakehead)
- Channa orientalis <small>Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801</small> (Ceylon snakehead)
- Channa ornatipinnis <small>Britz, 2008</small>
- Channa panaw <small>Musikasinthorn, 1998</small> (Panaw snakehead)
- Channa pardalis <small>Knight, 2016</small>
- Channa pleurophthalma <small>(Bleeker, 1851)</small>
- Channa pomanensis <small>Gurumayum & Tamang, 2016</small>
- Channa pseudomarulius <small>(Günther, 1861)</small>
- Channa pulchra <small>Britz, 2007</small>
- Channa punctata <small>(Bloch, 1793)</small> (spotted snakehead)
- Channa pyrophthalmus <small>Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui, & Lukas Rüber, 2024</small>
- Channa rakhinica <small>Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui, & Lukas Rüber, 2024</small>
- Channa royi <small>Praveenraj et al., 2018</small> (Andaman emerald snakehead) — likely a synonym of C. harcourtbutleri
- Channa stewartii <small>(Playfair (fr), 1867)</small> (Assamese snakehead)
- Channa stiktos <small>Lalramliana, Knight, Lalhlimpuia & Singh, 2018</small>
- Channa striata <small>(Bloch, 1793)</small> (striped snakehead)