Spotting Snakeheads

There's a lot of interest in the spotting of a northern snakehead in a small pond by a fisherman in Crofton, Maryland, according to this story in the Washington Post. Snakeheads (Channa spp.), a group of fish native to Asia, are peculiar in that they have the ability to breathe out of water. This talent not only allows it to survive in shallow water for long periods of time, but could potentially aid in the spread of the fish to new bodies of water. Popular both as a food fish and as a pet, it is still legal to own this species in Maryland. Interestingly, this is a different species from the one caught in the same pond back in May.