Channa limbata (Cuvier)

Chan, Jeffery C. F., Tsang, Alphonse H. F., Yau, Sze-man, Hui, Tommy C. H., Lau, Anthony, Tan, Heok Hui, Low, Bi Wei, Dudgeon, David & Liew, Jia Huan, 2023, The non-native freshwater fishes of Hong Kong: diversity, distributions, and origins, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71, pp. 128-168 : 142

Channa limbata (Cuvier)

( Fig. 23 , [LU])

Distribution. Lok Ma Chau area, Ho Hok Wai area, Tse Koo Hang area (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2013a); Tsung Yuen Stream (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2013b); Sandy Ridge area (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2016); Shan Ha Tsuen area (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2017); Sung Shan New Village (Atkins China Limited, 2020); Ping Kong Stream, Ho Pui River, Ma Tso Lung Stream, Yuen Long Bypass Floodway, Kam Tin River, Ping Yuen River (DSD, 2021); Lai Chi Chong area (H.T. Cheng, pers. comm., 2021); Fanling area, San Tin area, Tai Mei Tuk area, Nam Sang Wai, Hoi Ha Stream, San Tau Stream (current survey).

Native range. Southeast Asia.

Remarks. First recorded by Chan (1999) as a native species but subsequently considered to be non-native by AFCD (2021b). Individuals are restricted to sewage channels and degraded stream sections of continental New Territories except for a single individual recorded in the concretised canal of San Tau Stream, Lantau Island. Morphological and genetic analyses by Conte-grand et al. (2017) uncovered that specimens from Hong Kong overlap with a large number of other Channa gachua - type fishes from east of the IndoBurma region, including several localities in mainland China. It is currently in a species complex with two widespread lineages, separated by being located east ( Channa limbata ) and west ( C. gachua ) of the Indo-Burma region. Hence, C. limbata should be used in preference to the name C. gachua for individuals in Hong Kong

Figures

Fig. 23. Channa limbata, Fanling area.