Aenigmachanna mahabali
Aenigmachanna mahabali 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 who lives 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.
| Aenigmachanna mahabali | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anabantiformes |
| Family: | Channidae |
| Genus: | Aenigmachanna |
| Species: | A. mahabali |
| Binomial name | |
| Aenigmachanna mahabali Kumar, Basheer and Ravi, 2019 | |
References
- 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.
- "Second subterranean snakehead species found".
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