Rediscovery of the giant featherback Chitala lopis (Notopteridae) in its type locality resolves decades of taxonomic confusion

Arif Wibowo; Haryono Haryono; Kurniawan Kurniawan; Vitas Atmadi Prakoso; Hadi Dahruddin; Indah Lestari Surbani; Yohanes Yudha P. Jaya; Sudarsono Sudarsono; Fathur Rochman; Boby Muslimin; Tedjo Sukmono; Meaghan L. Rourke; Harald Ahnelt; Simon Funge-Smith; Nicolas Hubert

doi:10.3354/esr01281

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ESR 52:285-301 (2023) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01281

Rediscovery of the giant featherback Chitala lopis (Notopteridae) in its type locality resolves decades of taxonomic confusion

Arif Wibowo^1,*, Haryono Haryono², Kurniawan Kurniawan¹, Vitas Atmadi Prakoso^1,3,12, Hadi Dahruddin², Indah Lestari Surbani⁴, Yohanes Yudha P. Jaya⁵, Sudarsono Sudarsono⁵, Fathur Rochman¹, Boby Muslimin¹, Tedjo Sukmono⁶, Meaghan L. Rourke^3,7, Harald Ahnelt^8,9, Simon Funge-Smith¹⁰, Nicolas Hubert¹¹

¹Research Center for Conservation of Marine and Inland Water Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Cibinong Science Center, Jl. Raya Jakarta - Bogor Km 46, Cibinong, West Java 16915, Indonesia
²Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, National Research and Innovation Agency, Cibinong Science Center, Jl. Raya Jakarta - Bogor Km 46, Cibinong, West Java 16915, Indonesia
³Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia
⁴Yayasan Selaras Hijau Indonesia, Jl. Bumi Perkemahan RT 05 RW 03 Desa Tangkit, Kecamatan Sungai Gelam, Muaro Jambi, Jambi 36363, Indonesia
⁵Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representation in Indonesia, Menara Thamrin Bld. 7th floor, Jalan M.H. Thamrin Kav. 3, Jakarta 10250, Indonesia
⁶Department of Biology, University of Jambi, Jalan Lintas Jambi-Muara Bulian Km 15, Jambi 36122, Indonesia
⁷Department of Primary Industries, Narrandera Fisheries Centre, PO Box 182, Narrandera, NSW 2700, Australia
⁸Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
⁹First Zoological Department, Natural History, Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
¹⁰Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
¹¹Université Montpellier (UMR) 5554 Institut des sciences de l’évolution de Montpellier (ISEM) (IRD, UM, CNRS, EPHE), Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, Montpellier cedex 05 34095, France
¹²School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia

*Corresponding author: wibarf@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Unresolved taxonomy poses a significant challenge for conservation and recovery efforts of freshwater fishes in Indonesia. Asian featherbacks of the genus Chitala are found in Java, Sumatra and Borneo, and currently thought to comprise 3 of 6 species: C. lopis, C. hypselonotus, and C. borneensis. According to the IUCN, Chitala species are of Least Concern in Indonesia, except for C. lopis, which is considered Extinct. However, the taxonomy of Chitala species is unclear, with 3 nominal species (C. lopis, C. hypselonotus and C. borneensis) historically synonymized under a single name (C. lopis), but more recently tentatively considered as a valid species. The recent rediscovery of C. lopis in its type locality (Java) since last recorded in 1851 enabled a comprehensive genetic and morphological study of the 3 nominal species to clarify their status. We examined 151 mitochondrial sequences from all known species of Chitala, including sequences from the type localities of the 3 taxa in question. We identified 3 well-supported clades corresponding to C. lopis, C. hypselonotus, and C. borneensis. The analyses of 22 measurements identified several diagnostic characters between C. lopis and C. borneensis. We provide evidence that C. lopis is not extinct and is widespread across Java, Sumatra and Borneo. In contrast, C. hypselonotus has a more restricted distribution to Central Sumatra and may be at risk of extinction given it has not been collected from the Musi River since 2015. We argue for an urgent revision of the IUCN conservation status of the 3 species and recommend an expansion of molecular-based inventories to all freshwater fishes in Indonesia.

KEY WORDS: DNA barcodes · Morphometrics · Sequence-based species delimitation · Southeast Asia · Taxonomy

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Cite this article as: Wibowo A, Haryono H, Kurniawan K, Prakoso VA and others (2023) Rediscovery of the giant featherback Chitala lopis (Notopteridae) in its type locality resolves decades of taxonomic confusion. Endang Species Res 52:285-301. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01281

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ESR 52:285-301 (2023) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01281

Rediscovery of the giant featherback Chitala lopis (Notopteridae) in its type locality resolves decades of taxonomic confusion

Arif Wibowo1,*, Haryono Haryono2, Kurniawan Kurniawan1, Vitas Atmadi Prakoso1,3,12, Hadi Dahruddin2, Indah Lestari Surbani4, Yohanes Yudha P. Jaya5, Sudarsono Sudarsono5, Fathur Rochman1, Boby Muslimin1, Tedjo Sukmono6, Meaghan L. Rourke3,7, Harald Ahnelt8,9, Simon Funge-Smith10, Nicolas Hubert11