{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Channa_amphibeus_after_shaw_and_shebbeare_1938.jpg | image_caption = After Shaw and Shebbeare, 1938<ref name="usgs2004" /> | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Chaudhry, S. |date=2010 |title=''Channa amphibeus'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T166612A6247381 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166612A6247381.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Channa amphibeus | authority = (McClelland, 1845) | synonyms = ''Ophiocephalus amphibeus'' <small>McClelland, 1845</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{Fishbase|Channa|amphibeus|month=August|year=2019}}</ref> }} The '''Borna snakehead''', or '''Chel snakehead''',<ref name="usgs2004">Courtenay, Jr., Walter R. and James D. Williams. [https://fisc.er.usgs.gov/Snakehead_circ_1251/html/channa_striata.html Chiana Amphibeus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906005723/http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/Snakehead_circ_1251/html/channa_striata.html |date=2007-09-06 }} ''USGS Circular 1251: Snakeheads (Pisces, Chinnidae) - A Biological Synopsis and Risk Assessment''. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 2004-04-01. Retrieved 2007-07-16.</ref> ''Channa amphibeus'', is an extremely rare species of snakehead. ''C. amphibeus'' is native only to the Chel River (in the drainage of the Brahmaputra), of the Bhutan foothills, in northern Bengal, India.
As with all snakeheads, ''C. amphibeus'' is an aggressive predator. The fish grows up to about 25 cm (10 inches). ''C. amphibeus'' requires warm fresh water (about 22–28˚C) to properly mature, and access to atmospheric oxygen.<ref name="aquaticcommunity">AC Tropical Fish [http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/channa/amphibeus.php] ''Chel Snakehead - Channa amphibeus''. 2004-6. Retrieved 2008-04-30</ref> It was reported that during rainy periods, young are found "in flooded paddy-fields enclosed by forest; large fish can be found in pools of dried streams in forests."<ref name="usgs2004" /> This is a manifestation of behavior common to snakeheads – they need atmospheric air, which they receive by way of a suprabranchial organ (a primitive form of a labyrinth organ).<ref name="usgs2004" /> From a young age, ''C. amphibeus'' can survive in a low-oxygen water habitat, but if deprived of surface access, adult snakeheads can die from the lack of oxygen.<ref name="aquaticcommunity" />
Due to its smaller size (in comparison to other snakeheads), the Chel snakehead is slightly easier to keep in aquaria. However, there have been several episodes when snakeheads have been released into non-endemic environments, and the danger of the hardy, gregarious fish becoming a serious invasive species is very large (although for this species, this phenomenon has not yet transpired due to its relative rarity).<ref name="usgs2004" />
Alternate binomial names include ''Ophiocephalus amphibeus''.<ref name="aquaticcommunity" /> Names in northern Bengal include ''bora cheng'' (Mechi) and ''borna'' (Rabha).<ref name="usgs2004" />
==References== <references />
==External links== {{Wikispecies}} * [http://www.snakeheads.org/ snakeheads.org]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q972879}}
Borna snakehead Category:Fish described in 1845