Bronze featherback

The bronze featherback (Notopterus notopterus; Assamese: কান্ধুলি kandhuli, Bengali: ফলি, Thai: ปลาสลาด, ปลาฉลาด, ปลาตอง, Vietnamese: Cá thát lát, Burmese: ငါးဖယ်) is a fish in family Notopteridae found in South and Southeast Asia. Although primarily found in fresh water, it has been known to enter brackish water.[2] At present it is the only member of its genus, but as currently defined it is likely a species complex.[1]

For other species formerly included in Notopterus, see Chitala.

Bronze featherback
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Osteoglossiformes
Family:
Notopteridae
Genus:
Notopterus

Species:
N. notopterus
Binomial name
Notopterus notopterus
(Pallas, 1769)
Synonyms

Notopterus bontianus Valenciennes, 1848
Notopterus kapirat Lacepède, 1800
Notopterus osmani Rahimullah & Das, 1991
Notopterus pallasii Valenciennes, 1848

Description

Young specimens are a dark bronze-like color that becomes lighter with age. The species reaches a length of up to 60 cm (24 in).[2]

The bronze featherback can easily be kept in an aquarium. Popular as food, this fish also appears in a stamp of the Kingdom of Laos.[3]

As food

This fish is one of the fish species that has been used as food in Southeast Asia since ancient times.[4] It is an important food item in Laos, Indonesia, and Thailand. It is preserved and prepared in different ways. Nam phrik pla salat pon (น้ำพริกปลาสลาดป่น) is a variety of nam phrik with minced roasted pla salat eaten along with raw vegetables. It is popular in Khorat.[5]

Although much smaller in size, it is similar in appearance to the Chitala ornata, another important fish in Thai cuisine.

Dried and smoked Pla salat, a Khorat specialty
Ready-to-eat nam phrik pla salat pon

See also

References
  1. IUCN - Notopterus notopterus
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Notopterus notopterus" in FishBase. May 2014 version.
  3. WoRMS - Notopterus notopterus
  4. Charles Higham, A. Kijnga ed. The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor: Volume VI The Iron Age. page 43. IV 'The Fish Remains'
  5. Nam phrik pla salat pon recipe


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