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Chitala ornata

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA ACTINOPTERYGII OSTEOGLOSSIFORMES NOTOPTERIDAE

Scientific Name: Chitala ornata
Species Authority: (Gray, 1831)
Common Name/s:
English – Clown featherback fish, Clown knifefish, Ocellated Featherback, Spotted knifefish
Synonym/s:
Notopterus chitala (Hamilton 1822)
Notopterus ornatus Gray 1831

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published: 2012
Assessor/s: Vidthayanon, C.
Reviewer/s: Allen, D. & Smith, K.
Contributor/s: Fisher, J.
Justification:
The species has a wide distribution the from Mae Klong in Thailand eastward to the Mekong basin. It has been introduced to Myanmar and the Philippines for aquaculture and is heavily utilised from the wild. However at present there is no evidence of widespread population declines and it is assessed as Least Concern.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: The species occurs from the Mae Klong in Thailand eastward to the Mekong basin (Thailand, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Cambodia). It has been introduced to Myanmar and the Philippines for aquaculture.
Countries:
Native:
Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Thailand; Viet Nam
Introduced:
Myanmar; Philippines
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: This species is common throughout its range.
Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: This species inhabits lowland river mainstreams and tributaries including floodplains, marshland and larger waterbodies. It is well-adaptive to impounded waters. Feeds in mainstream and the Sesan tributary system, lives in deep pools of mainstreams. 'Black' seasonal movement, moving from river channels into seasonally flooded areas (Poulsen et al. 2004).
Systems: Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): Overfishing and habitat degradation are potential threats to the species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Research is needed into the impacts of harvesting.
Citation: Vidthayanon, C. 2012. Chitala ornata. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 May 2013.
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