Dream - Researchers have rediscovered the Chitala lopis belida fish in Java, Indonesia. The fish was previously declared extinct in Java in 2020 by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist. The rediscovery of the belida species is the result of collaborative research between the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Indonesian Green Harmony Foundation, Jambi University, Charles Sturt University from Australia, the Vienna Museum from Austria, and Montpellier University from France.

The discovery was made through the comparison of data from Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) barcoding sequencing and global genetic data from the Barcode of Life Data (BOLD), as well as morphological characterization compared to the collection of Chitala lopis species stored at the Natural History Museum, London, England. After confirming that the species is Chitala lopis, the researchers validated their discovery in a highly reputable scientific paper (Q1) in Germany, namely the Journal of Endangered Species Research Volume 52, which was released in November 2023.

"His discovery also expands the distribution of Chitala lopis' existence to three Indonesian islands: Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. 'The abundance and distribution of these three fish species have experienced a decline in Sumatra and Java. In fact, the last sighting of C. hypselonotus was in 2015,' added Arif. There are four protected species of the Notopteridae family based on the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Regulation No. 1 of 2021 concerning Protected Fish Species. They are Chitala lopis, Chitala borneensis, and Chitala hypselonotus."

IUCN reveals that the Chitala species, including the species categorized as Least Concern, indicates that the level of extinction risk is still low in Indonesia, except for the Chitala lopis which is considered extinct. Therefore, the conservation status in IUCN needs to be evaluated for the distribution of Chitala lopis in Indonesia, not just on the island of Java. Furthermore, the conservation status of Chitala hypselonotus and Chitala borneensis also needs to be revised from Least Concern to Critically Endangered due to population scarcity and distribution.