NL·0339Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Channa striata
- Family
- Channidae
- Native to
- Pakistan and India east through Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and southern China to Malaysia and Indonesia; introduced elsewhere
- Habitat
- Swamps, Paddy fields, Ponds, Slow rivers
Striped snakehead
Channa striata
Also calledShol শোল (Bengali) · Sowl (Hindi) · Pla chon ปลาช่อน (Thai) · Haruan (Malay) · Viral (Tamil) · Cá lóc (Vietnamese)
A tough air-breathing predator of paddy fields, ponds and swamps across South and Southeast Asia. It can survive in damp mud through the dry season and is a major food fish from Bengal to Vietnam.
Channa striata, the striped snakehead, is a species of snakehead fish. It is also known as the common snakehead, chevron snakehead, or snakehead murrel and generally referred simply as mudfish. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, and has been introduced to some Pacific Islands. Reports from Madagascar and Hawaii are misidentifications of C. maculata. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iBreathes air through a chamber above the gills, so it survives in stagnant, oxygen-poor water
- iiSurvives the dry season buried in moist mud
- iiiCan wriggle short distances across wet ground between pools
- ivBoth parents guard a floating ball of bright orange fry
In the field
Field marks
- aLong, cylindrical body with a flat, snake-like head covered in large scales
- bLong dorsal and anal fins running almost to the rounded tail
- cDark brown to black back with oblique dark bands (stripes) on paler, whitish flanks
- dLarge mouth with sharp teeth
- Not to be confused with
- The bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius) grows much larger and has an orange-ringed black eyespot at the base of the tail. Spotted snakehead (Channa punctata) is small, with dark spots and bars. The North American bowfin has a short anal fin and a bony gular plate under the chin.
- Where to see it
- Paddy fields and beels of Bangladesh and West Bengal; wet markets of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City
- When
- Resident; breeds mainly in the rainy season (May–September in most of its range)
Life & habits
- Diet
- Carnivore: fish, frogs, insects, crustaceans and other small animals
- Habitat
- Swamps, ponds, paddy fields, canals and slow, vegetated rivers
- Size
- Commonly 30–60 cm; up to about 1 m and 3 kg
- Lifespan
- Around 8–10 years
Lies motionless among weeds near the surface, gulping air, then lunges at passing prey. Pairs build a cleared nest in vegetation and fiercely guard their swarm of fry.
In the medicine cabinet
| Tradition | Use |
|---|---|
| Malay traditional medicine | Haruan fish broth and extract taken after childbirth and surgery to aid wound healing |
| Bengali and Southeast Asian folk diet | Fish soup given to convalescents |
Weight of evidence
Moderate. Some clinical trials with promising but limited or mixed results.
Active compounds
albumin, arachidonic acid, glycine and other amino acids
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Pakistan and India east through Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and southern China to Malaysia and Indonesia; introduced elsewhere
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
No plate in the Source Library names this exact species, so these show its closest relatives as the old naturalists drew them: same genus, or the same kind of animal. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Channa striata in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
In Malaysia and Indonesia, haruan soup is a traditional confinement food for mothers after childbirth. In Bengal the shol is a favourite curry fish, and it is kept alive in tubs at market because it survives so long out of the water.
Curiosity
Snakeheads are called 'murrels' in Indian English, and in Thailand grilled salted pla chon (pla chon pao) is a standard street food.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 97280.