From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH, Dec 16: Scientists have discovered a new species of snakehead fish from a small mountain stream near Iewmawlong village in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, marking a significant addition to India’s freshwater biodiversity.
The newly-identified species has been named Channa bhoi, after the indigenous Bhoi people of the Khasi tribe who inhabit the Ri-Bhoi region. The discovery has been formally documented in the international peer-reviewed journal Ichthyology & Herpetology, published by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
The species was identified by a team of researchers led by Jayasimhan Praveenraj, Nallathambi Moulitharan, Tejas Thackeray, Ravi Shanthy Naveen, Annam Pavan Kumar and Aristone M. Ryndongsngi, a local researcher from Ri-Bhoi.
Specimens were collected during field surveys conducted in 2021 from a shallow hill stream flowing through rocky terrain with sandy substrates and dense riparian vegetation near Nongpoh.
According to the researchers, Channa bhoi belongs to the “Gachua group” of snakehead fishes, a group known for its high diversity in the Eastern Himalayan region. The new species can be distinguished from its close relatives by a unique colour pattern, characterised by a bluish-grey body marked with minute black spots on each scale, forming eight to nine horizontal rows of broken lines along the sides. The fish also exhibits distinctive banding patterns on its pectoral fins.
Detailed morphological examination and genetic analysis confirmed that the species is new to science. DNA barcoding using the mitochondrial cox1 gene revealed a genetic divergence ranging from 3.3 to over 20 per cent from other known members of the Gachua group, establishing Channa bhoi as a distinct species. Phylogenetic analysis further identified it as a sister species to Channa bipuli, another snakehead found in Northeast India.
The discovery brings the total number of Channa species recorded from India to 26 and highlights Meghalaya as a major hotspot for snakehead fish diversity. Researchers note that the complex geological history of the Shillong–Mikir Plateau, combined with isolated mountain streams, has contributed to high levels of endemism in the region.
Scientists have emphasised that many hill-stream species in Meghalaya remain understudied and may still be awaiting discovery. The authors have also underscored the importance of integrating field surveys, morphological studies, live colour documentation, and genetic analysis to avoid taxonomic confusion in future research.
The study adds to growing scientific evidence that Meghalaya’s freshwater ecosystems are of exceptional ecological importance and warrant stronger conservation attention, particularly in the face of habitat alteration and unregulated collection of ornamental fish species.
