Parachanna africana (Steindachner, 1879)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Parachanna africana, the African snakehead or Niger snakehead, is a species of fish from west-central Africa. Little is published on its biology. Limited primarily to coastal sections of rivers, it is thought to be a nest-building, thrust predator like other Channidae.
Its native range is southern Benin to southern Nigeria, primarily the Oueme River and the basin of the Niger River. In Nigeria, it is used for human consumption and used in medicine.
Wikipedia contributors, Parachanna africana; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:30:51.133030+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Parachanna africana (Steindachner, 1879)
- Name authority
- (Steindachner, 1879)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anabantiformes
- Family
- Channidae
- Genus
- Parachanna
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnabantiformes
- suborderChannoidei
- familyChannidae Fowler, 1934
- genusParachanna Teugels & Daget, 1984
- speciesParachanna africana (Steindachner, 1879)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Parachanna. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Parachanna insignis (Sauvage, 1884) | ChannidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Parachanna obscura (Günther, 1861) | ChannidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Parophiocephalus africanus (Steindachner, 1879) (Steindachner, 1879) | synonym |
| Ophiocephalus africanus Steindachner, 1879 Steindachner, 1879 | synonym |
| Channa africana (Steindachner, 1879) (Steindachner, 1879) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1020092 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6TNJM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.