This species can be told apart from the similar-looking congener C. baramensis (once considered synonymous with C. melasoma) by absence (vs. presence) of a black spot in the centre of numerous body scales and absence (vs. presence in specimens larger than 120 mm SL) of a barred caudal-fin pattern.

This species is often confused with the nominal congeners C. marulius (Hamilton, 1822) and C. melanoptera (Bleeker, 1855) with all three presenting taxonomic problems.

For example, C. marulioides exhibits a number of variations in colour pattern depending on collection locality with the most common possessing a brownish base colour with a series of dark, chevron-like markings along each flank and some scales margined posteriorly in white.

This species is frequently confused with C. argus but can be distinguished by the following characters: dorsal-fin rays 38-45 (vs. 47-50 in C. argus); anal fin rays 26-29 (vs. 31-36); lateral line scales 50-56 (vs. 60-66); 2-3 rounded blotches on caudal peduncle (vs. no blotches on caudal peduncle).

It is widely-distributed in Pacific coastal drainages of southeastern China (e.g. the Yangtze, Minjiang, Hangjiang River, and Pearl (Nanjiu…

This species is also referred to as ‘giant’, ‘great’, ‘cobra’, or ‘Indian’ snakehead.

Although currently-considered to be distributed throughout much of southern Asia it is widely-accepted to represent a complex of related species in need of additional research.

A number of geographical variants exhibiting diffe…

This species has not yet entered the aquarium trade but is maintained by a handful of private collectors.

Though described in 2012 it was in fact first collected in the latter half of the 19th century with Day (1875-1878) having mentioned the presence of Badis dario in ‘Wynaad’ and its occurrence “along the Western Ghats” (the chain of mountains in southwestern India).

Sympatric fish species in the grasslands include Rivulus schuncki, juveniles of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and an unidentified Nannostomus sp.

One contrasting locality was a flowing igarapé with the fish collected from shallow water alongside Apistogramma gossei, Crenicichla inpa,unidentified…

Has been collected from habitats containing clear, soft, acidic, tea-coloured blackwater, most typically among leaf litter or submerged vegetation in very shallow (10-50 cm depth) water along the margins of streams and other minor tributaries.

At a village called El Niñal close to the mouth of the rio Pasimoni in the Casiquiare drainage pH was…

This species was known as L. sp. ‘Buckelkopf’ in the aquarium hobby prior to publication of its official description.

It’s distinguished from all congeners by possessing 7-8 dorsal-fin rays (vs. 9–10 in L. dorsigera, L. fulvipinnis and L. thayeri, 8–9 in L. curviceps and L. flamannellus, and 9–11 in L. flavilabris).

Some wild populations have evolved a complex amphidromous breeding strategy in which adults live and spawn in freshwater or brackish streams and the pelagic post-hatch larvae are washed downstream to the sea where the post-larval fry spend the first part of their life developing in estuarine nursery zones under brackish to full marine conditions.

Once they reach a certain stage of development they begin to migrate upstream with some mov…

There are a number of unidentified species within the grouping of which several are referred to using a two-letter code based on their respective colour pattern for ease of reference, with ‘CB’ shorthand for ‘cross band’, for example.

R. sp. ‘CB’ is the commonest member of the grouping in Japan but has not yet entered the international aquarium trade as far as we know.