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Teleostei (teleosts) > Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) > Notopteridae (Featherbacks or knifefishes) > Notopterinae
Etymology: Chitala: Bangladesh local name.
Eponymy: Maurice Blanc (d: 1923) was d’Aubenton’s colleague. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.

Issue
species doubtful, no other Ref.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Asia: mainstream of the Mekong in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and the lower course of some tributaries.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 120 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30857)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Distinguishable by the presence of numerous small black spots (in the anterior half of the body), merging posteriorly into irregular oblique bands extending on the anal and caudal fins (Ref. 27732). Differs from all other species except C. lopis in having a large round black spot at base of pectoral fin. In C. blanci pectoral basal spot present in juveniles as small as 6 cm and retained throughout life (Ref. 7431).

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Apparently restricted to areas with fast flowing waters, deep pools or rapids (Ref. 27732). Prefer habitats associated with rocky substrates (Ref. 37770). Occur in the mainstream of the Mekong River. Avoids tributaries and swamps (Ref. 7431). Reported to undertake short, local migrations (Ref. 37770). Active during twilight and night. Feed on fishes, crustaceans and insects. Also take smaller vertebrates (Ref. 58784). Spawning sites are found in inundated forests (Ref. 33813). Mature adults breed during the rainy season. Occasionally seen in the aquarium trade. (Ref. 12693). Has been bred for several years in Thailand (Ref. 7431).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Female guards the fry (to be verified).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Roberts, T.R., 1992. Systematic revision of the old world freshwater fish family Notopteridae. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 2(4):361-383. (Ref. 7431)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 23 February 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: commercial

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
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Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith

Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability

Human related
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Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

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References
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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5166 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00514 - 0.02450), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.7 ±0.56 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (88 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Chitala blanci (d'Aubenton, 1965)