Morphometric Characteristics and Seasonal Stomach-content Composition of Chitala chitala (Hamilton, 1822) in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, West Bengal, India

Background: The near-threatened Indian featherback Chitala chitala is a riverine fish of ecological and fisheries importance. Local descriptions of its external characteristics and stomach contents may support habitat-specific biological research, provided dietary measurements are interpreted as observational rather than causal evidence. Methods: The study summarised 148 Chitala chitala specimens associated with ten named localities in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly system during the stated interval from March 2025 to March 2026. Morphometric means and dispersions, thirteen stomach-content categories, gastrosomatic index (GI), and gut-fullness scores were examined as descriptive summaries across four seasonal groups. Collection methods included direct fishing and acquisition through local fishers and landing facilities. Results: Fish remains accounted for 31%, 19%, 32%, and 20% of the seasonal stomach-content composition in the pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter groups, respectively. Insects accounted for 15%, 17%, 13%, and 18%, while crustaceans comprised 12%, 14%, 9%, and 13%. All thirteen categories summed to 100% in each seasonal panel. The largest illustrated GI values occurred at Gadiara mouth, while the feeding-index summaries included 75% at Barrackpore during the monsoon and 71% at Katwa during the post-monsoon. Individual-stomach denominators and site-season variability were not specified. Conclusions: The observations are consistent with substantial consumption of animal-origin food items and seasonal variation in the recorded gut assemblage. They do not establish prey selectivity, reproductive investment, population trends, or demonstrated aquaculture performance. Reproducible station-by-season sampling and validated morphometric records are needed before stronger ecological comparisons can be made.