Channa royi, the Andaman emerald snakehead, is a species of snakehead fish endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. This dwarf snakehead is distinct from other snakehead species due to its differing coloration, number of vertebrae, and teeth, most notably its greenish-gray dorsum.[1] It was only scientifically described in 2018 and its closest relative is the Burmese snakehead (C. hartcourtbutleri),[1] and a review in 2019 argued that the two are synonyms.[2]
| Channa royi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anabantiformes |
| Family: | Channidae |
| Genus: | Channa |
| Species: | C. royi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Channa royi Praveenraj et al., 2018
| |
If recognized as its own species, it is only known from the South, Middle, and North Andaman islands, and is abundant in clear, slow-flowing water with rocks and little vegetation, such as ditches, ponds, and hill streams.[1] The specific name honours the fisheries biologist Sibnarayan Dam Roy.[3]
References edit
- ^ a b c Thakur, V. R.; Raymond, J. J. A.; Halalludin, Beni; Kiruba-Sankar, R.; Knight, J. D. M.; Praveenraj, J. (31 December 2018). "Channa royi (Teleostei: Channidae): a new species of snakehead from Andaman Islands, India". Indian Journal of Fisheries. 65 (4). ISSN 0970-6011.
- ^ Britz, R.; N. Dahanukar; V.K. Anoop; A. Ali (2019). "Channa rara, a new species of snakehead fish from the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, India (Teleostei: Labyrinthici: Channidae)". Zootaxa. 4683 (4): zootaxa.4683.4.8. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4683.4.8. PMID 31715914. S2CID 207966363.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (21 October 2019). "Order ANABANTIFORMES: Families ANABANTIDAE, HELOSTOMATIDAE, OSPHRONEMIDAE, CHANNIDAE, NANDIDAE, BADIDAE, and PRISTOLEPIDIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 24 December 2019.