Aenigmachanna mahabali

Aenigmachanna mahabali, the Mahabali snakehead, is a species of troglophilic snakehead fish that is endemic to the Indian state of Kerala.The fish is named after Mahabali, an asura king from Hindu mythology who lived underground and is associated with Onam. It is known from a single specimen recovered from a well over 200 kilometers south of the locality where its closest relative, A. gollum, was found. Alongside A. gollum, it is unique for being the only known cave-dwelling snakehead fish. It can be distinguished from A. gollum due to having fewer dorsal fin rays, vertebrae, and lateral scales, as well as its pectoral fin rays extending beyond the margin of the membrane, forming filaments.[1][2]

Aenigmachanna mahabali
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anabantiformes
Family: Aenigmachannidae
Genus: Aenigmachanna
Species:
A. mahabali
Binomial name
Aenigmachanna mahabali
Kumar, Basheer and Ravi, 2019

References

  1. Ravi, Charan; Basheer, V. S.; Kumar, Rahul G. (2019-07-17). "Aenigmachanna mahabali, a new species of troglophilic snakehead (Pisces: Channidae) from Kerala, India". Zootaxa. 4638 (3): 410–418. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4638.3.6. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 31712470. S2CID 203899040.
  2. "Second subterranean snakehead species found".


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