Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anabantiformes (Gouramies, snakeheads) > Channidae (Snakeheads)
Etymology: Channa: Greek, channe, -es = an anchovy (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Argus (or Argos) was a 100–eyed watchman in Greek mythology. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Subtropical; 4°C - 22°C (Ref. 2060); 54°N - 25°N, 111°E - 141°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Asia: Amur southward to Xi Jiang and Hainan Island, China (Ref. 82587). Introduced elsewhere. Japan (Ref. 6094) and the USA (Ref. 51238) report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 30.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56557); max. published weight: 8.0 kg (Ref. 56557)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 49 - 54; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 32 - 38.

Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Can stay out of the water for 3 to 4 days at temperatures ranging from 10 to 15°C (Ref. 37350). Is a typical ambush predator that lies in wait for its prey on the bottom. Hunts mainly in the morning and in the evening, feeding primarily on fish (Ref. 12569). Matures at the age of 2 years and length of 30 cm. Spawns in June and July (Ref. 56557). Eggs are pelagic. Utilized for human consumption.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bogutskaya, N.G., A.M. Naseka, S.V. Shedko, E.D. Vasil'eva and I.A. Chereshnev, 2008. The fishes of the Amur River: updated check-list and zoogeography. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 19(4):301-366. (Ref. 82587)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 February 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Potential pest (Ref. 45309)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums

FAO - Aquaculture systems: production; Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
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Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith

Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
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Pictures

References
References

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00741 (0.00490 - 0.01121), b=3.00 (2.88 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.4 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.

Generation time: 8.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High vulnerability (62 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Channa argus (Cantor, 1842)