Chitala

Chitala is a genus of fish of the family Notopteridae. This genus contains six species, in which some are important in aquaculture and the aquarium industry. They are commonly known as the Asian knifefishes or featherbacks. They are native to freshwater in South and Southeast Asia.[1]

Chitala
Chitala ornata
Scientific classification
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Chitala

Fowler, 1934
Species

see text

The largest fish in the genus (and also the family) is Chitala lopis, which grows up to a length of 1.5 m (4.9 ft).[1] Other well-known species are the clown knifefish (C. ornata) and the Indochina knifefish (C. blanci).

Species

There are six recognized species in this genus.[1] In the past some of these (notably C. ornata) were included in C. chitala,[2] resulting in considerable confusion, especially in the fishing and aquarium industries.[3]

References

  1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). Species of Chitala in FishBase. May 2014 version.
  2. Roberts, T.R. (1992). Systematic revision of the old world freshwater fish family Notopteridae. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 2(4):361-383.
  3. Seriously Fish: Chitala chitala. Retrieved 24 May 2014


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