Parachanna

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Parachanna africana after boulenger 1916.jpg

| image2 = Parachanna obscura - Aqua Porte Dorée 11.JPG

| image2_caption = P. africana (above),

P. obscura (below)

| taxon = Parachanna

| authority = Teugels & Daget, 1984

| type_species = Ophiocephalus obscurus

| type_species_authority = Günther, 1861

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

| range_map = Parachanna distribution.gif

| range_map_caption = Combined range of the Parachanna species

}}

Parachanna is a genus of snakeheads native to freshwater habitats in tropical Africa. Three recognized extant (living) species are in this genus, but a phylogenetic study from 2017 indicates that a fourth, currently undescribed species also exists.Conte-Grand, C., Britz, R., Dahanukar, N., Raghavan, R., Pethi-yagoda, R., Tan, H.H., Hadiaty, R.K., Yaakob, N.S. & Rüber, L. (2017). Barcoding snakeheads (Teleostei, Channidae) re-visited: Discovering greater species diversity and resolving perpetuated taxonomic confusions. PLoS ONE, 12 (9): e0184017.

One fossil species, Parachanna fayumensis Murray, 2006 dated to the Upper Eocene and Lower Oligocene is known from the Jebel Qatrani Formation of the Fayum Depression, Egypt.