Up Close with Channa Amphibeus

Lost & Found After 85 Years

By Amar Salvi, Editor - The Weekend Aquarist

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

For most of the last century, Channa amphibeus - locally known as the Chel Snakehead or Bura Cheng - was little more than a fish remembered through old records. Its last confirmed appearance dated back to specimens collected between 1918 and 1933, after which it seemed to exist mainly in stories, paintings and the unverified recollections of fishers from the Himalayan foothills. Then, in late 2024, a team led by Dr. Jayasimhan Praveenraj, alongside Tejas Thackeray, N. Moulitharan, B. Vijayakrishnan and G.K. Nanda, rediscovered the species in the Chel River system of northern West Bengal. Their findings, published in Zootaxa in January 2025, confirmed the first scientifically verified records of C. amphibeus in over 85 years.

A Fish That Lived as a Rumour

The story of C. amphibeus began in the 1830s, when naturalist J.T. Pearson described unusual specimens collected from the foothills of the Bhutan mountains. His account recorded a fish with an olive-green colour, orange stripes and a head speckled with crimson spots. Later, British naturalist John McClelland received the same specimens and initially identified them as Channa barca. The species was finally named correctly as Channa amphibeus in 1845, but confusion persisted for decades. By 1876, it was again treated as a synonym of C. barca before being resurrected as a distinct species by Shaw & Shebbeare in 1938, based on fresh specimens from the Chel River. Despite decades of surveys across northern Bengal and Assam, the species disappeared from scientific records.

The 2024 Rediscovery: A Himalayan Ghost Reappears

During fieldwork between September and November 2024, the discovery team encountered a live specimen before preservation, followed by two additional specimens. They also recorded multiple fresh photographic records, including individuals measuring up to 500 mm SL, and obtained DNA barcode confirmation that placed the species as sister to Channa barca with ~3.1% divergence. The live fish was collected from a slow-flowing, muddy stream surrounded by Terai grasslands - precisely the kind of microhabitat described in the nineteenth-century accounts. Interviews with local fishers added another layer to the rediscovery. The team learned that the species can grow 60-80 cm, that adults are often found in submerged crab burrows, and that they appear only seasonally in shallow streams. Locally, the fish is still recognised as Bura Cheng.

A Spectacular Animal in Life

The rediscovered fish carries an extraordinary colour palette. Its body is described as iridescent green with chrome-yellow to ochre bands, accompanied by neon-blue lips and snout. Maroon, orange and chrome-yellow blotches appear across the head, while the pectoral fins show bright orange colouration with semicircular bands. The black-spotted dorsal and caudal fins add further detail to an appearance that older accounts had already described as “gorgeously coloured.” The rediscovery provides the opportunity to see this remarkable fish in life rather than only through historical descriptions.

A Rare Opportunity for The Weekend Aquarist

The rediscovery also brought the species into an unexpected space: the aquarium community. A live specimen was made available for observation at India Gills, Bengaluru, through aquarist Nikhil Sood. The article notes that this was one of the very few living C. amphibeus documented anywhere in the world and that the individual is currently on display at a public aquarium. The story also connects the rediscovery with the wider aquarist community through footage featured on The Weekend Aquarist Podcast, offering an opportunity to see the species alive.

Why This Rediscovery Matters

The return of Channa amphibeus after more than eight decades is more than a historical curiosity. The story points to a number of urgent themes: species can remain out there waiting to be found; the Terai grasslands need protection; local knowledge such as the name Bura Cheng can play an important role; and the species' fossorial lifestyle helps explain why it remained out of scientific view for so long. It also adds to a larger picture of freshwater biodiversity in the Himalayas - a picture that is both rich and fragile. The findings suggest that Channa amphibeus may require a serious conservation reassessment.

A Fish Back From the Edge of Myth

From the pages of an Asiatic Society account in 1839 to the shallow Chel streams of 2024, Channa amphibeus has survived colonial misidentification, scientific confusion and nearly a century of absence from confirmed records. Its rediscovery is a reminder of the mysteries still flowing through India's rivers. 3 THE WEEKEND AQUARIST And for The Weekend Aquarist, witnessing one of these living fish legends up close was nothing short of extraordinary.

Read the full story

The complete feature follows the history, rediscovery and remarkable appearance of Channa amphibeus, alongside the field observations, local knowledge and scientific work that brought the species back into focus after 85 years. Read the complete story in the November 2025 issue of The Weekend Aquarist.

👉Buy this issue or subscribe to The Weekend Aquarist to experience the full story.