Rita (from the Bengali name of Rita rita), commonly known as velvet catfishes, is a genus of catfish found in South Asia. It is the only member of the family Ritidae. These species have a single pair of mandibular barbels, an elongated Weberian apparatus firmly sutured to the basioccipital and the sensory canal on the posttemporal enclosed with bone.
There are currently 7 recognized species in this genus:
In addition, the fossil species Rita grandiscutata is known from the Early Pliocene-aged sediments in the Siwalik Hills of Punjab.