Fish Fauna, Abundance and Distribution in Chalakudy River System, Kerala

11 Pages·1999·5.9 MB·

by  C R Ajithkumar

FISH FAUNA, ABUNDANCEAND DISTRIBUTIONINCHALAKUDY
RIVER SYSTEM, KERALA
1
C.R. Ajithkumar2 K. Rema Devi3 K. Raju Thomas and C.R. Biju2
, ,
(With one text-figure)
Key words: Freshwater fishes, Chalakudy river, Kerala, Anaimalai hills,
Nelliampathy hills, Barilius bendelisis, Glyptothorax lonah.
ChalakudyriveroriginatingfromtheAnaimalaiandNelliampathyhillrangeswassurveyed
fromNovember 1996to February 1998,andthetotal numberoffish speciesrecorded from
thisriverreacheduptoninety-eight. GlyptothoraxlonahisanewrecordforKerala.Barilius
bendelisiswasrecordedforthefirsttimefromawestflowingriverinKerala.Hypselobarbus
kurali, Puntius dorsalis, Travancoriajonesi, Tetraodon travancoricus, Nemacheilus
guentheri, Ompokmalabaricus,EuryglossaorientalisandMacrospinosacujawerereported
forthe firsttime fromthisriver. Lowland (<75 mfromsea level)andmidland (75 to500 m
abovemsl)have agreaternumberofspeciesthan highland (500 to 750m abovemsl)and
m
high ranges(>750 abovemsl). This is becauseofthemigratory speciesrecorded in the
lowland and midland and also because this area is connected with paddy fields or other
wetlands.
Introduction (1951).Later,Thobias(1973)didadetailedstudy
ofthefishesinTrichurdist.whileAntony(1977)
The Western Ghats are one of the most studied the hill stream fishes in the same area.
importantbiodiversityhotspotsinIndia. Inspite Study on the fishes ofthe lowerreaches andthe
of adverse human impacts, they still support a wetlands in Trichur dist. was done by Inasu
good number of endemic flora and fauna, (1991). FromChalakudyriver, Pethiyagoda and
including fish fauna. Several endemic fish Kottelat(1994)havereportedthreenewspecies,
species were recorded from southern Western viz, Osteochilichthyslongidorsalis, Travancoria
Ghats (Jayaram 1981; Talwar and Jhingran elongata and Horabagrus nigricollaris from
1991). Study on fresh water fishes of Kerala Vettilappara,26kmupstreamofChalakudy town
startedwithDay’s fishesofmalabar(1865) and and Shaji et al. (1996) have reported a new
fishes of India (1889) After that, most of the species Garra surendranathanii from
studies on fishes were conducted in southern Orukomban.
Western Ghats i.e. south ofPalghat gap during There is, however, no detailed study ofthe
the forties andfifties, andinclude Pillay(1929), whole Chalakudy river system. We have carried
John (1936), Hora and Law (1941), Hora and outadetailedsurveyintheChalakudyriversystem
Nair(1941), Raj (1941), Chacko (1948),Menon including the portions lying in Tamil Nadu State
(1950) and Silas (1951). and the results thus obtained were collated with
The earliest specific study, in the higher past records to get a clear picture ofthe present
reaches ofChalakudyriversysteminAnaimalai distribution and abundance offishes.
andNelliampathy Hillswascarriedoutby Silas
Study area
'AcceptedAugust,1998
^BombayNaturalHistorySociety,HombillHouse, River Chalakudy is 144 km long, and its
CDZrho.eonSlnaoalgiiicm6aA0ll0iS0uCr2hv8oewyko,fSI.ndBi.aS,.1R0o0a,dS,aMnutmhobmaeiH4i0g0h0R2o3a.d, b3a0s"inNliaensdbeltownegietnudleati7t6u°des17'100°"1a0'nd0”7a7n°d4'100°"3E3.'
244 JOURNAL BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2) AUG. 1999
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
It originates from Anaimalai and Nelliampathy countforroughly 2 sq. m area was carried out if
hillsandjoinsPeriyarriveratElanthikara, afew thewaterwasclear. Inthepost-monsoonperiod,
kilometresbeforeflowingintothesea. Themain the water was rarely turbid. Various sampling
tributaries of this river are Sholayar, methods such as castnet, scoop net, gill net and
Parambikulam, Kuriarkuty and Karappara. The a circular net with very small mesh and sinkers
Sholayar and Parambikulam rivers originate ontheedge,wereusedtocatchdifferentspecies,
from Anaimalai at 1066 m and 1676 m above adding to the visual count. A constant number
msl respectively. Sholayar flows westwards for of efforts was made to reduce statistical bias.
44.8 km and then turns northwards and joins Samples were preserved in 10% formalin and
Parambikulam river, 1.6 km before keptforidentificationandfurtherstudies.Fishes
Orukombankutty at an elevation of 473 m. wereidentifiedmainlyfromJayaram(1981)and
Parambikulam river flows parallel and north to Talwar and Jhingran (1991).
Sholayar. Kuriarkuty river also originates from Based on altitude, the study area was
the Anaimalai hills and joins Parambikulam classifiedinto fourmain divisions; (1) Lowland
river. Karapara river originates from the (<75 mfromsealevel), (2) Midland(75 to 500m
m
Nelliampathy hills of Palakkad dist. at an above msl), (3) Highland (500 to 750 above
elevation of 914 m, flows west and turns msl), (4) High ranges (>750 m above msl)
southwest till it joins Parambikulam river at Distributional variation and seasonal abundance
Orukombankutty; from this point the river is ofthespecies werecloselyobserved.
knownasChalakudyriver. Beforeitsconfluence
withPeriyartherearesomesmallerstreamssuch ResultsandDiscussions
asCharppathodu,Kannamkuzhi,Pillaparathodu
and Arurmuzhi. Till it reaches the plains, the As the western side ofthe Western Ghats
riverhas arockybottomwithdeep crevices and is narrow, the rivers flowing westward are also
pools, rapids and falls, a famous one being smaller than the east flowing rivers. Moreover,
Athirapilly falls. intheseriversystems,separatedastheyarefrom
Chalakudyriverhasacatchmentareaof1,704 each other by hills, easy mixing of species is
sq.kmandthetotalrunoffis3,121 x 10 m3.There difficult. Though these rivers are small in size,
are a number ofreservoirs in the river system, the number of fish species is high. Chalakudy
viz. Parambikulam, Thunakadavu, Peruvari- riverisoneoftheimportantriversinKeralawith
pallam, Malakkapara, lower Sholayar, and highly diverse fish fauna.
Poringalkuthu.
Fish Fauna
Method Duringthepresentsurvey, 83 specieswere
recorded. A complete listoffish from this river,
During 1996-97thesurveywascarriedout including past records, gives a total number of
inNelliampathy,AnaimalaiandCardamomhills 98 species, 34 families and 10 orders. Previous
(south of the Palghat gap). This includes recordsthathavebeen included inthis listare of
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary and part of Silas (1951); Thobias (1972); Antony (1977);
IndiraGandhiWildlifeSanctuary.Post-monsoon Inasu (1991); Pethiyagoda and Kottelat (1994)
period was suitable for fish survey. 1:50,000 andBijuetal. (1998, 1999).Themostabundant
SurveyofIndiatoposheetswereusedtopinpoint order in this report is Cypriniformes followed
the approachable sites andto identify the stream byPerciformesandSiluriformes.Thefamilywith
order. At the sampling site, careful observation the maximum number of representatives is
wasmadewithoutdisturbingthewaterandvisual Cyprinidae. The most abundant genus in this
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2), AUG. 1999 245
) )
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
river is Puntius followed by Mystus. This list Hypselobarbus kurali Puntius dorsalis
, ,
includes typical primary freshwater fishes, Travancoria jonesi, Macrospinosa cuja
,
secondary freshwater fishes or migratory fishes Euryglossa orientals, Nemacheilus guentheri
,
and wetland species. Ompok malabaricus and Tetraodon
Silas (1951) studied the Ponnani drainage travancoricusarereportedforthefirsttimefrom
and Periyar drainage system (he considered this river.
Chalakudyriveras apartofPeriyarbecauseitis Tor khudree is considered as a rare and
connected with Periyar just before it joins the endangered species in Kerala. This species was
Arabian Sea). He recorded eight species from recorded in good numbers from upstream
Nelliampathyhills.TheworksofThobias(1973), stretches.Moreover,onespecimenofthisspecies
Antony (1977) and Inasu (1991) were was collected from the lowlying
concentratedonlyintheThrissur(=Trichur)dist. Kanakkankadavu area. Tor khudree is a sport
Hence their list of species also included fishes fish, andspecialisedmethods to catch fishinthe
from Karuvannur and Kecheri rivers. Thobias river have resulted in this species being
(1973) collected 58 species offreshwater fishes endangeredandlistedaccordingly. Onespecimen
from Thrissur dist. ofwhich 51 were found in recorded from Kanakkankadavu showed it
the Chalakudy river. Antony (1977) described can thrive in lowland, midland and highland
48 species of hill stream fishes from Thrissur streams.
district,ofwhich42specieswerefromChalakudy Thefishesrecordedfromthepresentsurvey
river. Inasu (1991) studied the distribution of and the past records (*) are given in Table 1.
inland fishes and listed 57 species, ofwhich 17 ThefishesareclassifiedaccordingtoTalwarand
species were from the Chalakudy river. Jhingran 1991 withmodificationsfromMenon
( )
Pethiyagoda and Kottelat (1994) have reported (in press).
threenewspeciesfromthisriverunderthegenera Notes on some interesting species
Travancoria, Osteochilichthys andHorabagrus. 1. Garra surendranathanii Shaji et al.
Shaji etal. (1996) reported a new species under 1996. Garra surendranathanii Shaji et al.,
the genus Garra. Biju et al. (1999) reported 40 JBNHS, 93(3): 572-575
species of freshwater fishes of Parambikulam 13 specimensofG. surendranathaniiwere
Wildlife Sanctuary. 15 species that have been collected from Orukombankutty and nearby
recorded by previous workers were not located places.Thisspeciesdescribedby Shajietal. from
byus during thepresent survey. Chalakudy, Periyar andPamba rivers ofKerala.
Table1
LISTOFSPECIESRECORDEDFROMCHALAKUDYRIVER
Sp.No. Sp.No.
I Order:Elopiformes 4. Dayellamalabarica(Day)
Family:Megalopidae Family:Engraulididae
1. Megalopscyprinoides(Broussonet) 5. StolephoruscommersoniiLacepede
IV Order:Cypriniformes
II Order:Anguilliformes
Family:Cyprinidae
Family:Anguillidae
Subfamily:Cyprininae
2 Anguillabengalensisbengalensis
. (Gray&Hardwicke) 6. Catlacatla{Hamilton)
3. AnguillabicolorbicolorMcClelland 7. Cirrhinusmrigala(Hamilton
8. Cyprinuscarpiocommunis
III Order:Clupeiformes Linnaeus
Family:Clupeidae 9. Hypselobarbuscurmuca(Hamilton
Subfamily:Pellonulinae 10. H. kolus(Sykes)
246 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2) AUG. 1999
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
Table1(contd.)
LISTOFSPECIESRECORDEDFROMCHALAKUDYRIVER
Sp.No. Sp.No.
11. H. thomassiDay* Family:Cobitidae
12. Hypselobarbusjerdoni(Day) Subfamily:Cobitinae
13. H. micropogon(Val.)* 52. Lepidocephalusthermalis(Valenciennes)
1154.. HH..pkuulrcalhielMleusnoDnay&*RemaDevi V Order:Siluriformes
16. Labeorohita(Hamilton) Family:Bagridae
53 Horabagrusbrachysoma(Gunther)
17. L.calbasu(Hamilton)* .
18. Osteobramabakeri(Day) 54. H.nigricollarisPethiyagoda&Kottelat*
19. Osteochilichthyslongidorsalis 55. Pseudobagraschryseus(Day)*
PethiyagodaandKottelat 56. Mystusgulio(Hamilton)
20. O.thomassi(Day)* 57. M.armatus{Day)
21. Puntiusamphibius(Valenciennes) 58. M.cavasius(Hamilton)
59. M.malabaricus(ievdon)
22. P.chola(Hamilton)
23. P.denisonii(Day) 60. M.oculatus(Valenciennes)
61. M.vittatus(Bloch)*
24. P.dorsalis(Jerdon)
Family:Siluridae
25. P.fdamentosus(Valenciennes)
26. P.melanostigma(Day)* 62. Ompokbimaculatus(Bloch)
27. P.melanampyx(Day) 63. O.malabaricus(Valenciennes)
28. P.parrahDay 64. Wallagoattu(Schneider)
Family:Sisoridae
29. P.ticto(Hamilton)
30. P.vittatusDay 65. Glyptothoraxlonah(Sykes)
31. Barbodescarnaticus(Jerdon) 66. GlyptothoraxmadraspatamimDay*
Family:Claridae
32. Barbodessaranasubnasutus(Valenciennes)
67. Clariasbatrachus(Linnaeus)
33. Torkfyudree(Sykes)
Family:Heteropneustidae
Subfamily:Cultrinae
34. Salmostomaboopis(Day) 68. Heteropneustesfossilis(Bloch)
Family:Ariidae
Subfamily:Rasborinae
35. Amblypharyngodon melettinus 69. AriuscaelatusValenciennes
(Valenciennes) VI Order:Cyprinodontiformes
36. BariliusbakeriDay Family:Hemirhamphidae
37. B.bendelisis(Hamilton) 70. Hyporhamphuslimbatus(Valenciennes)
38. B.gatensis(Valenciennes) Family:Belonidae
4309.. DD.anmiaolaabeaqruiicpuisnn(aJteursdo(nM)cClelland) 71. XenentodFoamniclayn:cAipllao(cHheaimliildtaoen)
41. Esomusdanricus(Hamilton) 72. Aplocheiluslineatus(Valenciennes)
42. Parluciosomadaniconius(Hamilton) 73. Aplocheiluspanchax(Hamilton)*
Subfamily:Garrinae
43. Garralamta(Hamilton)* VII Order:Synbranchiformes
44. G.mcClellandiJerdon* Family:Synbranchidae
45. G.mullya(Sykes) 74. OphisternonbengalenseMcClelland*
46. G.surendranathanii
Shaji,Arun&Easa VIII Order:Perciformes
Family:Balitoridae Family:Ambassidae
Subfamily:Balitorinae 75. Parambassisthomassi(Day)
47. Bhavaniaaustralis(Jerdon) 76. Parambassisdayi(Bleeker)
48. Travancoriaelongata Family:Teraponidae
Pethiyagoda&Kottelat* 77. Teraponjarbua(Forsskal)
49. TravancoriajonesiHora Family:Carangidae
Subfamily:Nemacheilinae 78. Caranxcarangus(Bloch)
50. NemacheilusguentheriDay Family:Lutjanidae
51. N.triangularisDay 79. Lutjanusargentimaculatus(Forsskal)
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2), AUG. 1999 247
)
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
Table contd
1 ( .)
LISTOFSPECIESRECORDEDFROMCHALAKUDYRIVER
Sp-No. Sp.No.
Family:Gerreidae Family:Anabantidae
80. GerresfilamentosusCuvier 90. Anabastestudineus(Bloch)
Family:Sciaenidae Family:Belontidae
81. Macrospinosacuja(Hami1ton Subfamily:Macropodinae
Family:Scatophagidae 91. Macropoduscupanus(Valenciennes)
82. Scatophagusargus(Linnaeus) Family:Channidae
Family:Nandidae 92. Channamarulius
Subfamily:Pristolepidinae (Hamilton-Buchanan)
83. PristolepismarginatusJerdon 93. C.orientalisBlochandSchneider
Subfamily:Nandinae 94. C.striatus(Bloch)
84. Nandusnatidus(Hamilton) Family:Mastacembelidae
Family:Cichlidae 95 Macrognathusguentheri(Day)
.
85. Etroplusmaculatus(Bloch) 96 Mastacembelusarmatus(Lecepede)
.
86. E.suratensis(Bloch) IX Order:Pleuronectiformes
87. Oreochromismossambicci(Peters)
Family:Solteidae
88 MugilceFpahmailluys:LMiungnialeiudsae ^ Euryglossaorientalis(Bloch&Schneider)
.
Family:Gobiidae X Order:Tetraodontiformes
Subfamily:Gobinae Family:Tetraodontidae
89. Glossogobiusgiuris(Hamilton) 98. TetraodontravancoricusHora&Nair
Recordedbypreviousworkers
shows great resemblance to G. mcClellandi ofChalakudy river, two kilometres away from
(Jerdon) inbody form, position ofthe dorsal fin Orukombankutty. This species has distinctive
and number oflateral line scales. But it can be characters from all other species ofthe genus in
distinguished by the nature of spine in the having 10branchedraysandamarkedlyelongate
tubercles. G. mullya and G. menoni differ from last simple dorsal fin ray. It differs from O.
it in the number oflateral line scales. It differs thomassi in the absence ofa dark lateral stripe,
from G. hughi (Silas) by the presence ofscales by having a shallower body, and not having a
in the mid-dorsal streak and from G. gotyla fimbriatedupperlip. Itcanbedistinguishedfrom
stenorhyncus (Jerdon) in the absence of a O. nashiibyhaving ashallowerbodyandbythe
proboscis. This survey confirmed the presence absence ofa dark blotch on the dorsal fin. The
of this species only in its type locality, present report ofthis species is the second one
Orukombankutty.Thisisthesixthtypeofspecies fromKerala fromthe same river.
under the genus Garra, recorded from Kerala. 3. Barilius bendelisis (Hamilton)
2. Osteochilichthys longidorsalis B. bendelisis(Ham.)isoneoftheprincipal
Pethiyagoda & Kottelat hillstream fish in the rivers of Jammu. It is
1994. Osteochilichthys longidorsalis, characterised by eight to twelve dark bands
Pethiyagoda&Kottelat,J.SouthAsiannat. Hist., descendingtowardsthelaterallinewhichbecome
1(1): 97-116 indistinctasspotsinadultsandlaterallinescales
The first report of this 'species was from with two black spots at their base. It was
Chalakudyriver,nearVettilappara(typelocality), consideredtobepresentthroughoutIndiaexcept
26 kmupstreamofChalakudy town. During the Kerala (Talwar and Jhingran 1991). It was
presentsurvey, onespecimenofthisspecieswas reportedfromPeriyarlake,ThekkadybyChacko
collectedfromtheParambikulamriver,tributary (1948), but later Jayaram (1981), Talwar and
248 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2) AUG. 1999
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRI6.BUTION
Jhingran (1991) considered this as erroneous. Travancoria elongata
EasaandShaji(1996)havereportedthis species Pethiyagoda & Kottelat
from the east flowing Pambar river, Chinnar This species was also described from the
Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala. This report Chalakudy river near Vettilappara. It is
confirmed its occurrence in Kerala. distinguished from its only congener in having
During the present survey six specimens a more slenderbody, a longer and more slender
7.
ofthis species were collected from Thekkadiar caudal peduncle, and lobes of the rostral cap
tributary of Chalakudy river in Parambikulam between the rostral barbels present, but not
Wildlife Sanctuary area. This is the first report developed into barbel-like projections. During
ofthisspeciesfromawestflowingriverinKerala the present study, it has not been located in this
(Raju Thomas et al. 1998). river.
4. Glyptothorax lonah (Sykes) Tetraodon travancoricus
Six specimens ofG. lonah were collected Hora and Nair
fromKarappara riverinParambikulamWildlife This is a small species, less than an inch
SanctuaryareaandalsofromNelliampathyarea. in length. Hora and Nair (1941) described this
The known distribution of this species was fish from Pambar river, Kerala. In the present
Deccan plateau, Godavari and Krishna river survey, 75 specimens ofthis fish were collected
systems. S5i.las (1951) extended its distribution fromKanakkankadavuarea, Emakulamdistrict.
to the headwaters ofCauvery river. It was first This is the first report ofthis species from this
reportedfromKeralabyBijuetal 1998).Asmall river.
description ofthis species is givenbelow:
Bodyelongate, headdepressed, as long as Distribution and abundance offishes
broad; occipitalprocess about4timesas long as Samples were collected from 53 locations
broad, apposed to basal bone of dorsal fin. (Fig. 1), mainly in two seasons, viz, summer and
Maxillary barbels extend posteriorly to anterior post-monsoon periods. Separate collections were
thirdofpectoralfins. Adhesiveapparatuslonger taken from lowland, midland, highland and high
than broad, without a central pit. Dorsal fin range areas. Distribution ofvarious species under
inserted nearer to adipose fin than to snout tip. each altitudinal area is given in Table 2.
Horabagrus nigricollaris A total of61 species were recorded from
Pethiyagoda & Kottelat lowland areas, out ofwhich 26 were specific to
Type locality ofthis species is Chalakudy thiszone. Inthissurvey, 12 speciesofmigratory
river, 26 kmupstream ofChalakudy town, near or secondary freshwater fishes were obtained
Vettilappara. It is distinguished from H. (Table 3). Most ofthe migratory or secondary
brachysoma by the colourpattern; ithas ablack freshwater fishes were restricted to the lowland
saddle shaped bar extending across the dorsum area except Megalopes cyprinoides and
from the humeral region ofeach side; and also Euryglossaorientalis, whichwerereportedeven
byhaving ashorterhead, a largereye, abroader 50 km away from the sea coast in the midland
pectoral girdle, a longer dorsal spine and a area.
smaller distance between the dorsal origin and Macrospinosa cuja is the first report
coracoid.Thetwospeciesalsodifferintheshape from the freshwaters ofKerala. Itwas reported
ofthe adipose fin, inH. nigricollaris, the dorsal primarily from the Gangetic estuary. Hence its
profile ofthe adipose fin is continuous with the record fromKerala is interesting. The presence
dorsalprofileofthedorsumanteriortoit.During of this species in this river may be due to
the present study, this fish has not been located its introduction, considering its commercial
anywhere in this river. value.
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2), AUG. 1999 249
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
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250 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY. 96(2) AUG. 1999
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
Table2
DISTRIBUTIONANDSTATUSOFFISHESINDIFFERENTALTITUDINALZONESINCHALAKUDYRIVERSYSTEM
No. Species #1 #2 #3 #4 Status GT
1. Stolephoruscommersonii + Migratory
2. Anguillabicolorbicolor + Rare
3. Hypselobarbuskurali + Rare
4. Puntiusdenisoni + Rare
5. Tetraodontravancoricus + Rare
6. Horabagrusbrachysoma + Common
7. Mystusgulio + Migratory
8. Mystuscavasius + Common
9. Heteropneustesfossilis + Rare
10. Ariuscaelatus + Migratory
11. Hyporhamphuslimbatus + Common
12. Wallagoattu + Rare
13. Labeocalbasu* *** - Notfound
14. Teraponjarbua + Migratory
15. Caranxcarangus + Migratory
16. Lutjanusargentimaculatus + Migratory
17. Gerresfilamentosus + Migratory
18. Macrospinosacuja + Migratory
19. Scatophagusargus + Migratory
20. Nandusnandus + Rare
21. Mugilcephalus + Migratory
22. Macropoduscupanus + Common
23. Aplocheiluspanchax*** - Notfound
24. Pseudobagruschryseus* - Notfound
25. Puntiusmelanostigma*** - Notfound
26. Parambassisdayi + Common 26
27. Anguillabengalensisbengalensis + + Common
28. Megalopscyprinoides + + Migratory
29. Dayellamalabarica + + Common
30. Hypselobarbusjerdoni + + Common
31. Puntiusticto + + VeryCommon
32. Puntiusvittatus + + VeryCommon
33. Channaorientalis + + Common
34. Channastriatus + + Common
35. Barbodessaranasubnasutus + + VeryCommon
36. Osteobramabakeri + + Common
37. Clariasbatrachus + + Common
38. Mystusoculatus + + Common
39. Xenentodoncancila + + Common
40. Mastacembelusarmatus + + Common
41. Euryglossaorientalis + + Migratory
42. Parambassisthomassi + + Common
43. Glossogobiusgiuris + + Common
44. Anabastestudineus + + Common
45. Hypselobarbuspulchellus***,** - - Notfound 19
46. Salmostomaboopis + Common
47. Amblypharyngodonmelettinus + Common
48. Garrasurendranathanii + Rare
49. Cyprinuscarpiocommunis + Introduced
50. Puntiuschola + Common
51. Osteochilichthyslongidorsalis + Rare
52. Puntiusparrah + Common
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2), AUG. 1999 251
;
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
Table2
DISTRIBUTIONANDSTATUSOFFISHESINDIFFERENTALTITUDINALZONESINCHALAKUDYRIVERSYSTEM
No. Species #1 n #3 #4 Status
53. Hypselobarbuskolus + Veryrare
54. H.micropogon** - Notfound
55. H.thomassi* - Notfound
56. Osteochilichthysthomassi** - Notfound
57. Garralamta* - Notfound
58. G.mcClellandi** - Notfound
59. Horabagrusnigricollaris**** - Notfound
60. Travancoriaelongata**** - Notfound
61. Mystusvittatus** - Notfound
62. Ophisternonbenglense* - Notfound
63. Barbodescarnaticus + + Rare
64. Puntiusdorsalis + + Common
65. Catlacatla + + Introduced
66. Cirrhinusmrigala + + Introduced
67. Labeorohita + + Introduced
68. Hypselobarbuscurmuca + + Rare
69. Bariliusbakeri + + Common
70. Esomusdanricus + + Rare
71. Bhavaniaaustralis + + Rare
72. Mystusmalabaricus + + Common
73. Pristolepismarginata + + Common
74. Macrognathusguentheri + + Common
75. Glyptothoraxmadraspatanum** * - - Notfound
76. Mystusarmatus + + + + Verycommon
77. Puntiusamphibius + + + + Verycommon
78. P.filamentosus + + + + Verycommon
79. P.melanampyx + + + + Verycommon
80. Danioaequipinnatus + + + + Verycommon
81. Daniomalabaricus + + + + Verycommon
82. Parluciosomadaniconius + + + + Verycommon
83. Garramullya + + + + Verycommon
84. Nemacheilustriangularis + + + + Common
85. Etroplusmaculatus + + + + Verycommon
86. Oreochromismossambica + + + + Introducedandvery
common
87. Aplocheiluslineatus + + + Verycommon
88. Etroplussuratensis + + + Common
89. Channamarulius + + + Common
90. Lepidocephalusthermalis + + + Verycommon
91. Torkhudree + + + Rare
92. Ompokbimaculatus + + Common
93. Bariliusgatensis + + + Common
94. Nemacheilusguentheri + + + Common
95. Bariliusbendelisis + Rare
96. Ompokmalabaricus + Common
97. Travancoriajonesi + Veryrare
98. Glypotothoraxlonah + + Veryrare
Total 61 68 36 14
*Thobias,1973;**Antony,1977;***Inasu,1991 ****Pethiyagoda&Kottelat, 1994
Speciesrecordedinvariousaltitudezones
# 1.<75mabovemsl#2.76-500mabovemsl#3.501-750mabovemsl#4.>750mabovenisi;GT-GroupTotal
252 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2) AUG. 1999
1
FISHFAUNA,ABUNDANCEANDDISTRIBUTION
Table3
SECONDARYFRESHWATERFISHDISTRIBUTIONINTHECHALAKUDYRIVER
Species NatureofSpecies #1 #2 #3 #4 Abundance
Stolephoruscommersonii Coastalpelagic + Common
Mystusgulio Estuarine + Common
Ariuscaelatus Estuarine + Rare
Teraponjarbua Coastal + Common
Caranxcarangus Marine + Rare
Lutjanusargentimaculatus Estuarine + Rare
Gerresjilamentosus Coastal + Rare
Macrospinosacuja Estuarine + Veryrare
Scatophcigusargus Estuarine + Rare
Mugilcephalus Estuarine + Common
Euryglossaorientalis Coastal + + Rare
Megalopscyprinoides Coastalpelagic + + Common
Speciesrecordedinvariousaltitudezones
#1 <75mabovemsl; #2.76-500mabovemsl;#3.501-750msl;#4.>750mabovemsl
.
Highest number of species (68) was introducedspeciesOreochromismossambicawas
recordedfrommidland,whereastheleastnumber one of the well established fishes and it was
of species (14) from the high ranges. In the recordedfromallthe fourzones. Though Garra
lowland and midland areas freshwater fish mullya ismodifiedto survive inthehillstreams,
diversity was very high. This maybe due to the this species was found seasonally in various
presence of migratory fishes and the deep zones. G. lonah, T.jonesi, Ompok malabaricus
waterbodies sufficient for the fish life in these and Barilius bendelisis were restricted to
areas in all seasons. Moreover, the paddy fields highland or high ranges.
or the wetlands are also connected with the Duringthepresentsurvey,wewerenotable
lowlands. Besides these, during the summer tocollect 15 speciesthatwererecordedbyearlier
months fishes from upstream migrated towards workers and are marked with asterisk in Tables
the lower reaches and midland areas. 1 &2.Of these 15 species,Labeocalbasucan be
19 species were found both in the lowland consideredaslocallyendangered.Hypselobarbus
andmidlandareas,whereas 17specieswerefound kolus is being considered as a synonym of
onlyinthemidlandarea,outofwhich9previously Hypselobarbus curmuca (Menon, in press).
recorded species were not located during the
presentstudy. 13 specieswerecollectedfromboth Acknowledgements
the midland and highland areas.
Of the total fishes obtained, 15 species WethanktheUSFishandWildlifeService
were foundtobeverycommon, outofwhich 1 andtheMinistryofEnvironmentandForestsfor
had a uniform distribution throughout the river sponsoring the project on “Ecology of the
system. 34 specieswere commonwhile 15 were hillstreams of Western Ghats with special
rare. Six species were considered very rare, referencetofishcommunity”;Dr.A.G.K.Menon
namelyHypselobarbusthomassi,Labeocalbasu, forgoingthroughthemanuscriptandsuggesting
Glyptothorax madraspatanm (past records), necessary modifications. WealsothankMr. J.C.
Hypselobarbus kolus, Glyptothorax lonah and Daniel, Honorary Secretary, Dr. Asad R.
Travancoria jonesi. Five species from those Rahmani, DirectorandDr. B.F. Chhapgarofthe
collected were introduced species. Among the Bombay Natural History Society for their
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(2), AUG. 1999 253