Chitala chitala (Hamilton, 1822)
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
Chitala chitala (Assamese: চিতল sitawl, Bengali: চিতল, chitol) is a knifefish from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, found in the Brahmaputra, Indus, Ganges and Mahanadi River basins. It is sometimes known as the Indian featherback or Indian knifefish. In the past, it frequently included several related Chitala species, but these are now regarded as separate species. The main species confused with this species is C. ornata (clown featherback or clown knifefish); a Southeast Asian species seen regularly in the aquarium trade. The true C. chitala is very rare in the aquarium trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Chitala chitala; 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 chitala (Hamilton, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Hamilton, 1822)
- 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 chitala (Hamilton, 1822)
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 borneensis (Bleeker, 1851) | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Notopterus buchanani Valenciennes, 1848 Valenciennes, 1848 | synonym |
| Notopterus chilata (Hamilton, 1822) (Hamilton, 1822) | synonym |
| Notopterus maculatus Valenciennes, 1832 Valenciennes, 1832 | synonym |
| Mystus chitala buchanani (Valenciennes, 1848) (Valenciennes, 1848) | synonym |
| Mystus chitala Hamilton, 1822 Hamilton, 1822 | synonym |
| Chitala cliltula (Hamilton, 1822) (Hamilton, 1822) | synonym |
| Notopterus chitala (Hamilton, 1822) (Hamilton, 1822) | 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=1026796 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:5Y68R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.