Notopterus

Notopterus Temporal range: Eocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Notopterus notopterus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Osteoglossiformes
Family:	Notopteridae
Subfamily:	Notopterinae
Genus:	Notopterus Lacépède, 1800
Species
N. notopterus (Pallas, 1769) N. synurus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Notopterus is a genus of fishes in family Notopteridae found in South Asia:Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh (N. synurus) and Southeast Asia: Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam (N. notopterus). ^[1]

The genus was formerly monotypic, featuring only the tautonymous type species. However, genetic evidence recommended that the genus be split in 2020. ^[2] In addition, the fossil species † Notopterus primaevus Günther , 1876 is known from an complete skeleton described from the Eocene-aged Sangkarewang Formation of Sumatra, Indonesia. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Notopterus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 26 April 2025.
2. Lavoué, S.; S. Z. Ghazali; J. A. F. Jamaluddin; S. A. M. Nor; K. M. Zain (1 July 2020). "Genetic evidence for the recognition of two allopatric species of Asian bronze featherback Notopterus (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha, Notopteridae)". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 96 (2): 449–454. doi: 10.3897/zse.96.51350 .
3. "†Notopterus primaevus Gunther 1876 (knifefish)". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
4. Hilton, Eric J.; Lavoué, Sébastien (2018). "A review of the systematic biology of fossil and living bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei)". Neotropical Ichthyology. 16 (3). doi:10.1590/1982-0224-20180031.