Fish profile · Notopteridae
Giant featherback
Chitala lopis
Also called Indonesian featherback
The giant featherback belongs to a group whose Malaysian identifications have changed as researchers resolve old taxonomic confusion. Chitala lopis was rediscovered in Indonesia after an extinct assessment; Malaysian Chitala records need careful species-level checking.
Last reviewed 26 October 2026 · 8 sources
- IUCN
- EX
- Extinct
- In Malaysia
- Native
- Family
- Notopteridae
- order Osteoglossiformes
Category from the IUCN Red List, via GBIF (CC BY 4.0); it may lag the latest Red List assessment. IUCN lists this fish as extinct, but it has since been rediscovered in Indonesia.
Where in Malaysia
1 open-licence record · GBIF
Habitat
Freshwater river systems; Kenyir specimens have been reported cautiously as Chitala cf. lopis rather than a fully confirmed identification.
- Diet
- Small fish and insects, mostly at night.
- Native range
- Sundaland, including Java, Sumatra and Borneo; recent taxonomic work also includes Malaysian records.
Sources
Last reviewed 26 October 2026