Elusive Himalayan fish rediscovered after 87 years | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: A rare fish species, thought to have disappeared from India’s rivers, has unexpectedly reappeared. The Chel Snakehead has been rediscovered on the banks of the Chel River in Kalimpong in North Bengal after reports that it was being consumed by a local tribe.

The snakehead is a freshwater fish defined by its elongated body and snake-like head with long dorsal fins. Native to Asia, there are 37 known species of snakeheads across Asia, measuring 25 to 30 centimetres in length. Many species are exported to be displayed as ornamental pieces.

While the Chel Snakehead is known to marine scientists as ‘Channa Amphibeus’, it is ‘Bora Chung’ to local tribal communities who live near its Himalayan habitat. This species is 80 to 100 centimetres long and vibrantly coloured. “Our community of ichthyologists (scientists who study fish) considers it to be the most beautiful and vibrant of all the snakeheads,” said J Praveenraj, an independent ichthyologist, who rediscovered the Chel Snakehead in September last year.

Working in collaboration with the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation, a Mumbai-based non-profit, research and conservation organisation, Praveenraj was tipped off that a snakehead was being consumed by the Rabha, a tribe on the banks of the Chel River, in North Bengal. It’s where the species was discovered decades ago. “We went there and collected samples immediately,” he said.

According to Akshay Khandekar, a scientist with the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation, “We sent a team to the location for the rediscovery.”

Confirming their find took about four months. “We had to match the specifications of the fish with what we had since it was last discovered. Biometrics and measurements such as the diameter of the eyes were required to confirm that it was indeed the same species last seen in 1938,” said Praveenraj. The Chel Snakehead was discovered in 1845 and later seen in 1938. “It was not spotted by anyone after that,” he added.

On January 31, 2025, a research paper titled ‘Lost for more than 85 years—rediscovery of Channa amphibeus (McClelland, 1845), the world’s most elusive snakehead species (Teleostei, Labyrinthici, Channidae) was published in Zootaxa, authored by Dr J Praveenraj as the lead researcher and Tejas Thackeray as the second lead researcher, along with Nallathambi Moulitharan, Balaji Vijayakrishnan and Gourab Kumar Nanda.

Praveenraj said they had preserved three specimens for further study. “We will study their breeding patterns, how they can be conserved, what the threats are to their existence, and the anthropogenic (pollution) actives that threaten the species,” added Praveenraj.

The Thackeray foundation has previously made more than 85 discoveries, of lesser known taxa- vertebrates and invertebrates. “We focus on snakes, lizards and butterflies but also study fish and other marine creatures when there is something of particular interest,” said Khandekar.