Chitala borneensis (Bleeker, 1851)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Indonesian featherback (Chitala borneensis) is a species of knifefish from freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia. The details of its range are not entirely clear, with FishBase reporting that it occurs in Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula,. In 2024, it was reported to have been found in the Mae Klong basin and the eastern coast of southern Thailand, while Catalog of Fishes considers it endemic to Borneo.
There has been considerable taxonomic confusion between this species and C. lopis; it was argued as recent as 1992 that the two are variants of a single species, but later authorities have recognized them as separate.
C. borneensis reaches at least 56 cm (22 in) in standard length. It is overall pale silvery-golden with many small black spots on the tail fin, anal fin and lower rear part of the body, and a black spot behind the pectoral fin.
Wikipedia contributors, Indonesian featherback; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:19:09.370862+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chitala borneensis (Bleeker, 1851)
- Name authority
- (Bleeker, 1851)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Osteoglossiformes
- Family
- Notopteridae
- Genus
- Chitala
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderOsteoglossiformes
- familyNotopteridae Bleeker, 1851
- subfamilyNotopterinae Bleeker, 1851
- genusChitala Fowler, 1934
- speciesChitala borneensis (Bleeker, 1851)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Chitala. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Chitala blanci (d'Aubenton, 1965) | NotopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chitala lopis (Bleeker, 1851) | NotopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chitala ornata (Gray, 1831) | NotopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chitala chitala (Hamilton, 1822) | NotopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Notopterus borneensis Bleeker, 1851 Bleeker, 1851 | synonym |
| Notopterus maculosus Bleeker, 1851 Bleeker, 1851 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1021766 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5Y5X3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.