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The Species Of The Snakehead Species

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The snakehead species is a group of predatory freshwater fishes belonging to the family Channidae. Within this family, there are two genuses of fish, Parachanna from the African continent and Channa from the Asian continent. Together they comprise the 28 known species of snakeheads. Five of the 28 species are considered large fish, six are considered dwarf species, and the other seventeen are considered medium sized fish. All of the three species discussed in this paper are in the genus Channa with two in the large category while the remaining one is in the medium sized category. All members of the Channidae family have elongated bodies with rows of sharp teeth and exhibit mostly dark coloration. They all share the trait of becoming the …show more content…

Before their discovery in the wild in 2002, juveniles were readily available as an aquarium fish popular for their appearance and feisty temperament. Eventually aquarium enthusiasts found the snakeheads rapid growth rate and voracious appetite made them too difficult to house and expensive to feed, resulting in the “pets” being released into nearby bodies of water. Also during that time, they were popular in the live fish food market for in ethnic communities. It has been determined that fish imported for this later purpose were likely released intentionally because they could no longer be cared for or in hopes that they would establish themselves and become a naturally occurring food source.

After being discovered and identified in ponds, streams, lakes and rivers in the United States (US) by both biologists and fishermen, the entire Channidae family came under scrutiny. It was determined that if additional snakehead species were accidentally or intentionally released into US waters, 131 taxa of threatened and endangered species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and aquatic vegetation could be subjected to harm. Based upon the aggressive and predatory behavior of these species and the difficulty in differentiating between the species, all 28 species of snakeheads were banned from live importation into the US.

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