Channa gachua ( Hamilton, 1822 )

Ikhwanuddin, Mat Esa Mohd, Amal, Mohammad Noor Azmai, Aziz, Azizul, Sepet, Johari, Talib, Abdullah, Ismail, Muhammad Faiz & Hashim, Nor Rasidah, 2017, Inventory of fishes in the upper Pelus River (Perak river basin, Perak, Malaysia), Check List 13 (4), pp. 315-325 : 320-321

Channa gachua ( Hamilton, 1822)

Ophiocephalus gachua Hamilton 1822: 68 .

Ophiocephalus aurantiacus Hamilton 1822: 69 .

Material examined. Table 1; Figure 4a.

This species is characterized by the white margin in dorsal, anal and caudal fins; 3–3½ scales between the lateral line and the base of the anterior dorsal-fin rays;

relatively small body size, compared to its congeners, such as C. orientalis and C. striata . There is significant evidence suggesting C. gachua as a complex of species, and a taxonomic review of this group is clearly necessary. Ng et al. (1999) noted the presence of small black spots on the body of Indochinese specimens but not on those from India and from Greater Sunda Islands. Notwith- standing, Tan and Ng (2005) later observed this similar color pattern on specimens also from Jambi province, Sumatra. They are usually found in hill streams, while the adults inhabit medium-sized to large rivers, brooks, rapid-running mountain streams, and stagnant water bod- ies including sluggish flowing canals ( Taki 1978). They feed at night on small fish, insects, and crustaceans. They exhibit parental care, with the male brooding eggs and fry in his mouth ( Lim et al. 2008)