Channa argus ( Cantor, 1842 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Eagderi, Soheil, Sungur, Sevil, Coad, Brian W & Hamdard, Mohammad Hamid, 2023, Fishes of Afghanistan; a revised and updated annotated checklist, Zootaxa 5305 (1), pp. 1-69 : 45

Channa argus ( Cantor, 1842)

[I]—Northern snakehead

Taxonomy. Original description: Ophicephalus argus Cantor, 1842: 484 [Chusan Island, China; syntypes: BMNH 1843.7.21.3 (1), 1843.7.21.11–12 (9)].— Afghanistan synonyms: None.—Revisions: Berg (1949: 1005) as Ophiocephalus argus warpachowskii .—Illustration: Berg (1949: 1005, fig. 740) as Ophiocephalus argus warpachowskii .

Status in Afghanistan. First record from Afghanistan by Coad (2014: 319).—Afghanistan materials: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Afghanistan: Amu Darya.—General distribution: East Asia: China, Korea and Russia; introduced elsewhere.—Habitat: This species is mainly found in freshwater main rivers and smaller tributaries, as well as lakes and marshy water systems. This species is considered invasive and known to predate native fauna. It makes seasonal migrations in the autumn from lakes and bays to main riverbeds (deeper places of the main stream), where it hibernates, and in the spring it moves back to shallow areas. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Reasons of introduction. Fisheries: enhancement of wild stocks and sports fishing.

Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).