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The family Notopteridae contains eight species of osteoglossiform (bony-tongued) fishes, commonly known as featherbacks and knifefishes. They are small fishes living in freshwater or brackish environments in Africa and South-east Asia.
With the denotation of "knifefish", the Notopterids should not be confused with Gymnotiforms, the electric knifefishes. Although their manner of swimming is similar, the two groups are not closely related.
A few of the larger species, especially Chitala chitala, are food fish and occasionally aquarium pets. The name is from Greek noton meaning "back" and pteron meaning "fin".
Read more about Notopteridae: Description, Species