Morphological variations between native and Vietnam-originated striped snakeheads (Channa striata) in Bangladesh

The freshwater striped snakehead, Channa striata, known as “shol” in Bangladesh was introduced from Vietnam for commercial aquaculture that lacks morphological background. Therefore, the present study sought to differentiate various C. striata populations morphologically using one hundred eighty-six samples, consisting of nine native and two Vietnam-originated populations in Bangladesh. Seventeen morphometric and six meristic characters were studied, and the analysis highlighted that native and Vietnamese snakeheads were significantly different considering all morphological traits examined except eye diameter. The discrimination analysis illustrated that pelvic fin length (PVFL), pectoral fin length (PCFL), mouth gape (MG), and body width (BW) were the central characters caused to differentiate between native and Vietnamese populations. However, morphological findings compared with the previous findings reveal that Vietnam-originated snakeheads in Bangladesh do not correspond to wild morphotypes in Vietnam and that need to maintain carefully to avoid possible new morphotypes through genetic introgression and different culture condition practiced in Bangladesh.