A New Report of Karyotype in the Chevron Snakehead Fish, Channa striata (Channidae, Pisces) from Northeast Thailand

The chromosomes of the chevron snakehead fish (Channa striata) from Khon Kaen and Mahasarakam provinces, Northeast Thailand, were investigated by using conventional staining and Ag-NOR staining techniques. The diploid chromosome number of all 2 populations was 2n=42, with karyotype composed of 6 metacentric, 2 acrocentric and 34 telocentric chromosomes, NF=50, without heteromorphic sex chromosomes. This is a new report of karyotype in the C. striata. Ag-NOR was located on region adjacent to the centromere of chromosome pair 14. Here we first demonstrated Ag-NOR bands in snakehead fish from Thailand. In the future, basic knowledge about C. striata and its cytogenetics will be applied to studies of breeding, conservation and chromosome evolution in this fish.