Channa pleurophthalma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Channa pleurophthalma | |
|---|---|
 | |
_4.jpg) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anabantiformes |
| Family: | Channidae |
| Genus: | Channa |
| Species: | C. pleurophthalma |
| Binomial name | |
| Channa pleurophthalma (Bleeker, 1851) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Channa pleurophthalma, the ocellated snakehead, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the snakehead family Channidae. It is native to Indonesia.
Channa pleurophthalma was formally described in 1851 by Pieter Bleeker as Ophiocephalus pleurophthalmus with the type locality given as Bandjarmasin, in Borneo.[2] The specific name is a compound of the Greek terms pleuro- (meaning "side") and ophthalmus (meaning "eye"), a reference to the ocelli on its flanks, opercle and caudal fin.[3]
Description
As other snakehead species, the body of Channa pleurophthalma is cylindrical and laterally flattened. This species has an iridescent greenish or bluish basic color (however, the belly is usually yellowish), and there are three large black ocelli, which are outlined in orange, in the middle of the body. There is an additional ocellus on the opercle and on the caudal fin. The long dorsal fin has 40–43 fin rays, while the soft anal fin has 28–31 rays.[1] This species can reach about 40 cm (16 in).[1]
