Channa maculata (Lacepède)

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 : 168

Channa maculata (Lacepède)

( Fig. 22B )

Distribution. Kam Tin River (Black & Veatch Hong Kong Limited, 2005; current survey); Mai Po Nature Reserve (WWF, 2006; WWF, 2021); Kong Nga Po area (Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited, 2013); Sandy Ridge Cemetery (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2016); Lin Fa Tei area (Atkins China Limited, 2020); Shan Pui River (Black & Veatch Hong Kong Limited, 2020b); Ma Wat River, Ho Chung River, Ping Yuen River, Yuen Long Bypass Floodway, Lam Tsuen River, Shek Kong Stream (DSD, 2021); Ting Kok area, Wo Shang Wai area, San Tin area, Sheung Yue River, Ng Tung River, Ping Kong area (GBIF.org, 2021); Sam Dip Tam Stream (Tsang & Dudgeon, 2021d); Lau Shui Heung Reservoir, Shing Mun Reservoir, Kowloon Reservoir, Kowloon Byewash Reservoir, Shing Mun River, Lower Shing Mun Reservoir, Mui Tsz Lam Stream, Plover Cove Reservoir, Fo Tan Nullah, Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, She Shan River (current survey).

Native range. Japan, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam ( East Asia).

Remarks. As native populations of this species occur in several reservoirs, the distribution records presented above include only obvious feral populations (e.g., including many damaged individuals and/or found in exceptionally high abundances in channelised water courses). Historically, this species has been cultivated in fish ponds since the 1940s (Lin, 1949), and non-native individuals may have been able to breed in local fresh waters or interbreed with native populations. Channa maculata differs from Channa argus and their hybrids by having a single stroke in the dorsal head pattern in between the eyes (more separated from the eyes, the larger they become) and smaller blotches on its lateral side (for further details, see Ou et al., 2018).

Figures

Fig. 22. A, Channa argus, Ng Tung River, Channa maculata, B1, (dorsal head pattern), B2, (lateral pattern), She Shan River (uncertain origin), Channa argus × Channa maculata hybrid, C1, (dorsal head pattern), C2, (lateral pattern), Ng Tung River.