Parachanna africana (Steindachner);

African/ Niger Snakehead

Remarks: Parachanna africana, formerly referred to as Ophiocephalus africanus (Steindachner), was a common catch across all sampling locations during the study. This species is widely distributed in freshwater and brackish environments across Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. P. africana is often misidentified as its congener Parachanna obscura (Günther) . However, according to Bonou and Teugels (1985), P. africana can be reliably distinguished by the following combination of morphological characteristics that include color pattern, scale count, lateral line, and anal-fin rays. In our study, we identified P. africana from NLL by its elongated body and a medium-sized lateral line scale. The head is depressed anteriorly and covered with larger scales. Distinctively, the species is marked by nine dark bands along the flanks and possesses 48 dorsal fin rays, which are key features for its identification.