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

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 <i>Channa</i>. 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.