Observations and evolutionary considerations on trophic egg provisioning in snakeheads (Teleostei: Channidae)

Abstract

The provisioning of trophic eggs is exceedingly rare in fish, with only a single example of a species exhibiting this behaviour reported in the scientific literature: the Lake Malawi catfish Bagrus meridionalis. However, observations in captivity suggest that the behaviour is widespread and likely universal among all species within the most species-rich lineage of Channa. The evolution of trophic eggs could have led to the large adaptive radiation found in the C. gachua Group, which comprises almost half of the species diversity within the genus.