A study published in 2017 showed that C. pseudomarulius, formerly regarded as a synonym of C. marulius, is a valid species from the southern Western Ghats.

[6] One of these is C. aurolineata, revalidated in 2018 for the populations in drainages in Myanmar, Thailand, and non-natively in the United States[7] (separated from the more western C. marulius by the Indo-Burman Ranges),[3] and the other was described as a new species, C. auroflammea, from the Mekong basin in 2019.

Channa Ara which is known as Kalumaha ( Sinhala : කලුමහ ) has a deep black body with numerous white to gold speckles on the underside.

C. Ara grows to an average length of 55–68 cm in the wild and have a slender body shape unlike its larger subspecies, C. Ara[citation needed] Bullseye snakehead is a fast-growing fish species when compared to most of the others of the genus, and they are also suitable for intensive culture due to their air-breathing habit.

They are being sold live and fetch high prices in the market, due to their excellent-tasting flesh and lack of fine bones.