Chromosome-level genome assembly of <i>C. maculata</i>

The blotched snakehead (<i>Channa maculata</i>) is a species of snakehead. It is one of four species of the genus <i>Channa</i> native to China. It is also to native northern Vietnam and Taiwan, but has been widely introduced to other countries, where it is an invasive species. This predatory species typically grows to a length of 2030 cm (7.911.8 in), but it has been confirmed at 33 cm (13 in) and some suggest it may reach a far larger size.<br><i>Channa maculata</i> is one of the main cultured species of the family Channidae. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the whole genome of <i>C. maculata</i> for the first time and obtained a chromosome-level genome assembly of 618.82 Mb. Contig N50 was 21.73 Mb, scaffold N50 was 28.37 Mb, with 24,115 coding genes annotated for <i>C. maculata</i>.<br>This study provides a high-quality genome research platform for follow-up studies of Channidae.