notopterid

notopterid

▪ fish
also called  Knifefish, or Featherback,  

      any of about eight species of air-breathing, freshwater fishes constituting the family Notopteridae, found in quiet waters from Africa to Southeast Asia. Notopterids are long-bodied, small-scaled fishes with a small dorsal fin (if present) and a long, narrow anal fin that runs along most of the undersurface and continues into the tail fin. Undulations along the anal fin enable the fishes to swim both forward and backward. Notopterids are predacious and nocturnal and in some areas are sought as food. The largest (Notopterus chitala) may grow to a length of about 80 cm (32 inches). The species Xenomystus nigri is sometimes kept in aquariums.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • notopterid — no·top·ter·id …   English syllables

  • notopterid — I. nəˈtäptərə̇d, ˌrid adjective Etymology: New Latin Notopteridae : of or relating to the Notopteridae II. noun ( s) : a fish of the family Notopteridae …   Useful english dictionary

  • osteoglossomorph — ▪ fish Introduction       any member of what is widely believed to be the most primitive group of bony fishes (bony fish). This reputation stems from their rudimentary caudal skeleton and the lack of a set of intermuscular bones throughout the… …   Universalium

  • knifefish — ▪ suborder Gymnotoidei       any of certain New World fishes of the suborder Gymnotoidei, order Gymnotiformes. Knifefishes comprise, at most, about 50 species of Central and South American fishes found in quiet lakes and lagoons. They are placed… …   Universalium

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