The bronze featherback (''Notopterus notopterus''; as, কান্ধুলি ''kandhuli'', bn, ফলি, bn, কাংলা,, th, ปลาสลาด, ปลาฉลาด, ปลาตอง, Vietnamese: ''Cá thát lát'', my, ငါးဖယ်) is a ray-finned fish in the family

Notopteridae The family Notopteridae contains 10 species of osteoglossiform (bony-tongued) fishes, commonly known as featherbacks and knifefishes. These fishes live in freshwater or brackish environments in Africa and South and Southeast Asia. With the denot ...

found in

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and Southeast Asia. Although primarily found in fresh water, it has been known to enter brackish water. At present, it is the only member of the genus ''Notopterus'', but as currently defined, it is likely a species complex.

Description

Young specimens are a dark

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

-like color that becomes lighter with age. The species reaches a length up to . The bronze featherback can easily be kept in an aquarium. Popular as food, this fish also appears in a stamp of the

Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

As food

This fish has been used as food in Southeast Asia since ancient times, and remains an important food item in countries such as Indonesia,

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(Burma), and Thailand. It is preserved and prepared in different ways. In

Burmese cuisine Burmese cuisine () encompasses the diverse regional culinary traditions of Myanmar, which have developed through longstanding agricultural practices, centuries of sociopolitical and economic change, and cross-cultural contact and trade with ne ...

, the flesh of the bronze featherback, locally known as ''ngaphe'', is used in

ngachin ''Ngachin'' ( my, ငါးချဉ်; ), also called pickled fish, is a traditional fermented fish product used in Burmese cuisine. ''Ngachin'' consists of raw freshwater fish, which is pressed with a mixture of cooked rice gruel and salt as it ...

, a pressed fish pickle, and is used to make fish paste. In Thai cuisine'', nam phrik pla salat pon'' (น้ำพริกปลาสลาดป่น) is a variety of '' nam phrik'' with minced roasted ''pla salat'' eaten along with raw vegetables. It is popular in Khorat.''Nam phrik pla salat pon'' recipe
/ref> Although much smaller in size, it is similar in appearance to the ''

Chitala ornata The clown featherback, clown knifefish, or spotted knifefish, ''Chitala ornata'', is a nocturnal tropical fish with a long, knife-like body. This knifefish is native to freshwater habitats in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, but it has al ...

'', another important fish in Thai cuisine.

References

External links

Notopteridae Freshwater fish of South Asia Freshwater fish of Southeast Asia Fish of Bangladesh Fish of Pakistan Fish described in 1769 Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas {{Osteoglossiformes-stub

Description

As food

See also

References

External links