J. Exp. Zool. India Vol. 17, No. 2, pp.

377-399, 2014 ISSN 0972-0030

FISH BIODIVERSITY OF WESTERN GHATS REGION OF INDIA : A REVIEW

Rajesh Dayal, Shri Prakash Singh, U. K. Sarkar, A. K. Pandey, Ajey K. Pathak and Reeta Chaturvedi
National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Canal Ring Road, Lucknow - 226 002, India.
email: rdayal3@rediffmail.com
(Accepted 10 May 2014)

ABSTRACT : Western Ghats of India is one of the richest hotspot of biological diversity in the world and harbour 38 east- and
27 west-flowing rivers to drain the entire watershed region and other wetlands which are the natural abode of numerous aquatic
animals including fishes. Though several attempts were made to prepare the checklist of fishes of the Western Ghats, there is
still scope to update the available list and associated information for user-friendly storage and retrieval of data. This paper
reviews the current status of fish diversity described and reported so far and discusses the methodologies used in developing the
checklist of 379 fish species reported from the entire Western Ghats region. The revised checklist reports distribution of fish
diversity under 48 families, and 143 genera, of which about 151 are endemic (39.84%) and 8 are exotics distributed in different
ecosystems. Interestingly, the present synthesis of published information shows that about 30 new species from this region
were reported since 2003. The present compilation provides the revised scientific name of the species with latest taxonomic
nomenclature and recent information on common name, family, habitat, endemic nature and conservation status of fish species
as per IUCN Red List (2012). It is expected that the updated list would be much useful for decision making and effective
management of the fish genetic resources in this region.

Key words : Western Ghats, fish fauna, habitat, endemism, threatened status, IUCN Red List.

INTRODUCTION Mudumalai National Park and Mukurthi National Park of

Western Ghats Region in India stretches to a length
of 1,490 km from Tapi Valley in the north to Kanyakumari
in south with an area of approximately 1,29,037 sq km
and a width of 210 km in Tamil Nadu that narrows to as
small as 48 km in Maharashtra (leaving the Palghat gap)
(Anon, 2011). Recently, this region has been declared as
no-go zone by MOEF with restrictions on construction
and development, being Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
(Molur et al, 2011; Anon, 2013). This region, popularly
known as Sahyadri and one of the richest hotspots of
biological diversity in the world, harbours 38 east-flowing
and 27 west-flowing rivers to drain the entire watershed
region and other wetlands which is a natural abode of
numerous aquatic animals including fishes. This area is
ecologically sensitive to development and was declared
an ecological hotspot in 1988. It has been declared as
World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Paris (Myers et al,
2000; Wikipedia, 2013). The Western Ghats, one of the
eight “Hottest Biodiversity Hotspots” of the world, are
the second only to the Eastern Himalayas as treasure
trove of biological diversity. This region has 2 Biosphere
Reserves, 13 National Parks and several wildlife
sanctuaries. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is spread over 5,500
km² covering the evergreen forests of Nagarahole,
deciduous forests of Bandipur National Park and Nugu
in Karnataka and adjoining regions of Wayanad,
Kerala and Tamil Nadu forming the largest contiguous
protected area (Myers et al, 2000; Anon, 2012; Wikipedia,
2013). The great topographic heterogeneity (from sea level
to 2,695 m at its highest point, the Anaimudi peak) and a
strong rainfall gradient (annual precipitation of <50 cm in
sheltered valleys in the east to >700 cm along west-facing
slopes) combined to give rise to a tremendous diversity
of life forms and vegetation types, including tropical wet
evergreen forest, montane stunted evergreen forest (shola)
and grassland, lateritic plateaus, moist and dry deciduous
forests, dry thorn forests and grassland. Many of these
are critical habitats for plants and animals (Anon, 2011;
Raghavan et al, 2012). Western Ghats region is the natural
abode of diverse floral and faunal resources of estimated
5,000 species of flowering plants, 137 species of mammals,
203 species of reptiles, 508 species of birds, 181 species
of amphibians and 290 species of fishes, out of which a
sizeable number of threatened species occur in this region
with different levels of endemism (Mercy, 1981; Daniels,
2001; Molur et al, 2011; Raghavan et al, 2012).
The biodiversity richness Western Ghats has attracted
many taxonomists to explore the fishes in the natural water
bodies, to identify native, non-native and new species in
order to prepare checklist of fish faunal resources of this
geographical region. Several attempts were made in the
past to prepare the checklist of fishes of the Western
378
Ghats at different geographical scale like river stretch,
river basin, tributary, a selected region or a water body.
Some have even made effort to revise and consolidate
lists from the scattered sources. A series of lists of fishes
found in the freshwaters of Western Ghats and peninsular
India have been published since the 19th century (Hora
and Law, 1941; Hora, 1942; Mercy, 1981; Kowtal, 1994;
Gopi, 1996; Chakraborty, 1996; Arun, 1997; FAO, 1997;
Easa and Saji, 1997; Rema Devi et al, 2000; Ponniah
and Gopalakrishnan, 2000; Daniels, 2001; Sreekantha et
al, 2006; Bapurao et al, 2010; Radhakrishnan et al, 2010;
Kurup and Radhakrishnan, 2011a, b, c; Britz et al, 2012a;
Gopalakrishna et al, 2012; Radhakrishnan and Rajmohana,
2012; Ng, 2013; Raghavan et al, 2013). In addition to
these, Daniels (2001) listed 298 species with 114 endemic
(38.25%) while Shaji et al (1996) listed 287 fishes
considering some estuarine fishes that ascend
freshwaters, highlighting presence of 67% endemic and
18 exotic species. Dahanukar et al (2004, 2011) listed
288 freshwater fishes with 118 endemic species (40.97%).
They have suggested at least 40% of the species are
threatened falling under different threat categories due
to drastic decline of the population in recent decade in
the wild and recommended for implementing appropriate
conservation measures.
Sreekantha (2013) (website Sahyadri Mathsya (http:/
/ w w w. c e s . i i s c . e r n e t . i n / b i o d i v e r s i t y /
sahyadri_enewsnewsletter/issue17/main_index.htm) listed
318 species (including 136 endemic and 6 introduced
species) with information on habitat, ecosystem, possible
threats responsible for the decline of fisheries in the region
and suggested on conservation measures and education.
Bapurao et al (2010) described 58 fishes from the river
Koyna lying in the northern Western Ghats out of which
22 species are endemic. Abraham et al (2011) have
published a list of 103 species with 25 endemic from five
important rivers of Kerala, namely Kallada, Ithikkara,
Vamanapuram, Karamana and Neyyar in the southern
Western Ghats. Kharat et al (2012) recorded 51 species
with 13 endemic from the river Krishna and Ghom
reservoir at Wai and availability of six globally threatened
species- Gonoproktopterus curmuca, Labeo potail,
Schismatorhynchos nukta, Tor khudree, T. mussullah
and Parapsilorhynchus discophorus. Fishes are the
most important product of the wetland at global scale
providing essential nutrition up to 30% protein in typical
diet, employment and income to millions of people of the
country (Kevin et al, 2011). Fishes not only contribute
as nutritious food to the poorest of the poor of the society
but also helps in socio-economic upliftment and survival
of the fishing community (Molur et al, 2011). Visualising
Rajesh Dayal et al
the potential and importance of fish as basic ingredient
material for various animal feed industry, industrial and
medicinal uses, recreation, eco-tourism, export commodity,
aqua-farming, ornamental fish trade, it has become
essential to list all the fishes reported from different
habitats of Western Ghats region. Therefore, an attempt
has been made to compile the available literature, document
and update the list of fishes belonging to freshwater,
brackishwater and marine ecosystems of the Western
Ghats region by supplementing with the recent information
on threat status as per IUCN Red List (2012) including
other taxonomical as well as biological parameters for
conserving and managing the fish biodiversity of this
region.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data Source
The fish species reported and described from the
Western Ghats region up to September (2013) were
scanned for collecting the information (Day, 1865, 1878;
Silas, 1951a, b; 1952a, b; Jayaram, 1981, 1999, 2010;
Mercy, 1981; Jayaram et al, 1982; Menon, 1987, 1997,
1999; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991; Kowtal, 1994; Shaji et
al, 1996; Arun, 1997; Sehgal, 1999; Ponniah and
Gopalakrishnan, 2000; Babu et al, 2004; Mercy et al,
2007; Dahanukar et al, 2011; Gopalakrishnan et al, 2012).
A standard fish species data collection format was
prepared and collected information on scientific name with
author’s name, common name, taxonomy, distribution,
habitat, rivers, synonyms, economic importance, fishery,
morphological characters and colouration etc. Each
species sheet was checked for synonyms and duplicate
names were deleted. The old scientific name was replaced
with the latest scientific name as per FishBase 2014 with
name of the author (s) and year (Froese and Pauly, 2014).
The threatened status of the fishes was revised as per
the IUCN Red List (2012).
Information System Development
Database development: In order to electronically
store, update and manage the list and information on the
fish species reported from the Western Ghats region using
MSACCESS 2007, a relational database management
system under the Windows operating platform was
designed. The information from the species sheet was
used to populate the database.
Interface development: To search and retrieve the
information from the database, an integrated interface
with the database using Visual Basic under Windows
operating environment was developed that facilitates to
retrieve the information by the search options: Scientific
name, Genus and species, and Family. Using either of the
Table 1 : Annotated list of fishes of Western Ghats of India.
S. Fish Name Common name Family Habitat Endemicity IUCN
No. (English) Status
1 Acanthocobitis botia (Hamilton, 1822) Mottled loach Balitoridae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
2 Acentrogobius caninus (Valenciennes, 1837) Tropical sand goby Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
3 Acentrogobius ennorensis Menon and Rema Devi (1980) — Gobiidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
4 Ambassis ambassis (Lacepède, 1802) Commerson’s glassy Ambassidae Freshwater, Non-endemic LC
Brackishwater, Marine
5 Ambassis dussumieri Cuvier, 1828 Malabar glassy perchlet Ambassidae Freshwater, Non-endemic LC
Brackishwater, Marine

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

6 Ambassis gymnocephalus (Lacepede, 1802) Bald glassy Ambassidae Freshwater, Non-endemic LC
Brackishwater, Marine
7 Ambassis interrupta Bleeker, 1853 Long-spined glass perchlet Ambassidae Marine Non-endemic LC
8 Ambassis nalua (Hamilton, 1822) Scalloped perchlet Ambassidae Freshwater, Non-endemic LC
Brackishwater, Marine
9 Amblypharyngodon melettinus (Valenciennes, 1844) Attentive carplet Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
10 Amblypharyngodon microlepis (Bleeker, 1854) Indian carplet Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
11 Amblypharyngodon mola (Hamilton, 1822) Mola carplet Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
12 Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792) Climbing perch Anabantidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic DD
13 Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis (Gray, 1831) Indian mottled eel Anguillidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
14 Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland (1844) Indonesian short-fin eel Anguillidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
15 Aphanius dispar (Rüppell, 1829) - Cyprinodontidae Marine Non-endemic NE
16 Aplocheilus blocki Arnold (1911) Green panchax Aplocheilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
17 Aplocheilus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1846) Striped panchax Aplocheilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
18 Aplocheilus panchax (Hamilton, 1822) Blue panchax Aplocheilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
19 Aspidoparia morar (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
20 Badis badis (Hamilton, 1822) Badis Gobiidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
21 Bagarius bagarius (Hamilton, 1822) Goonch Sisoridae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NT
22 Bagarius yarrelli (Sykes, 1839) - Sisoridae Freshwater No-endemic NT
23 Balitora mysorensis Hora (1941) Slender stone loach Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic VU
24 Balitora brucei Gray, 1830 Gray’s stone loach Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic NT

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Table 1 continued...
 380
Table 1 continued...
25 Balitora jalpalli Raghavan, Tharian, Ali Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic NE
Jadhav & Dahanukar (2013)
26 Balitora laticauda Bhoite Jadhav & Dahanukar (2012) - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic NE
27 Balitora shimogensis Kalawar & Kulkarni (1956) - Balitoridae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
28 Bangana ariza (Hamilton, 1822) Reba Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
29 Barbodes bovanicus (Day, 1877) Bowany barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR
30 Barbodes carnaticus (Jerdon, 1849) Carnatic carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
31 Barbodes wynaadensis (Day, 1873) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR
32 Barilius bakeri Day (1865) Malabar baril Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
33 Barilius barila (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
34 Barilius barna (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
35 Barilius bendelisis (Hamilton, 1807) Hamilton’s trout, Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
Hamilton’s barila
36 Barilius canarensis (Jerdon, 1849) Jerdon‘s baril Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE

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37 Barilius evezardii Day (1872) Day‘s baril Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
38 Barilius gatensis (Valenciennes, 1844) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
39 Barilius vagra (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
40 Batasio sharavatiensis Bhat & Jayaram (2004) - Bagridae Freshwater Endemic EN
41 Batasio travancoria Hora & Law (1941) Malabar batasio Bagridae Freshwater Endemic VU
42 Bathygobius fuscus (Rüppell, 1830) Dusky frill goby Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
43 Betadevario ramachandrani Pramod,Fang, Rema Devi, - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic DD
Liao, Indra, Jameela Beevi & Kullander (2010)
44 Bhavania australis (Jerdon, 1849) Western Ghat loach Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic LC
45 Botia macrolineata Teugels, de Vos & Snoeks (1986) - Cobitidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
46 Botia striata Narayan Rao (1920) Zebra loach Cobitidae Freshwater Endemic EN
47 Brachirus orientalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Oriental-sole Soleidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
48 Brachygobius nunus (Hamilton, 1822) - Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NE
49 Caesio straita Ruppel (1830) Striated fusilier Caesionidae Marine Non-endemic NE
50 Caesio suevica Klunzinger (1884) Suez fusilier Caesionidae Marine Non-endemic NE
51 Carassius auratus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) Goldfish Cyprinidae Freshwater Introduced NE
Table 1 continued...
Table 1 continued...
52 Carinotetraodon imitator Britz & Kottelat (1999) - Tetraodontidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
53 Carinotetraodon travancoricus (Hora & Nair, 1941) Malabar pufferfish Tetraodontidae Freshwater Endemic VU
54 Catla catla (Hamilton, 1822) Catla Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
55 Chanda nama (Hamilton, 1822) Elongate glass-perchlet Chandidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
56 Channa diplogramma (Day, 1865) - Channidae Freshwater Endemic VU
57 Channa marulius (Hamilton, 1822) Great snakehead Channidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
58 Channa micropeltes (Cuvier, 1831) Indonesian snakehead Channidae Freshwater Non endemic LC
59 Channa orientalis Bloch & Schneider (1801) Walking snakehead Channidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NE
60 Channa punctatus (Bloch, 1793) Spotted snakehead Channidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
61 Channa striatus (Bloch, 1793) Striped snakehead Channidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

62 Chela cachius (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater No-endemic LC
63 Chelonodon patoca (Hamilton, 1822) Milkspotted puffer Tetraodontidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
64 Chitala chitala (Hamilton, 1822) Clown knifefish Notopteridae Freshwater Non-endemic NT
65 Cirhinus mrigala (Bloch, 1795) Mrigal carp Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic VU
66 Cirhinus reba (Hamilton, 1822) Reba carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
67 Cirrhinus cirrhosus (Bloch, 1795) Mrigal carp Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic VU
68 Cirrhinus fulungee (Sykes, 1839) Deccan white carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
69 Cirrhinus macrops Steindachner (1870) Hora white carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
70 Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) Philippine catfish Clariidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
71 Clarias dayi Hora (1936) - Clariidae Freshwater Endemic NE
72 Clarias dussumieri dussumieri Valenciennes (1840) - Clariidae Freshwater Non-endemic NT
73 Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) North African catfish Clariidae Freshwater Introduced NE
74 Crossocheilus latius latius (Hamilton, 1822) Stone collar Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
75 Crossocheilus periyarensis Menon & Jacob (1996) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
76 Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844) Grass carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Introduced NE
77 Cyprinus carpio carpio Linnaeus (1758) Common carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Introduced NE
78 Danio aequipinatus (McClelland, 1839) Giant danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
79 Danio fraseri (Hora, 1935) Fraser danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
80 Danio malabaricus (Jerdon, 1849) Malabar danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
81 Danio neilgherriensis (Day, 1867) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
82 Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822) Zebra danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
83 Dario urops Britz, Ali and Philip (2012b) - Badidae Freshwater Endemic NE

381
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84 Dayella malabarica (Day, 1873) Day’s round herring Clupeidae Marine Endemic LC
85 Devario aequipinnatus (McClelland, 1839) Giant danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
86 Devario fraseri (Hora, 1935) Fraser danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
87 Devario malabaricus (Jerdon, 1849) Malabar danio Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
88 Devario neilgherriensis (Day, 1867) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
89 Esomus barbatus (Jerdon, 1849) South Indian flying barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
90 Esomus danricas (Hamilton, 1822) Flying barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
91 Esomus thermoicos (Valenciennes, 1842) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
92 Etroplus canarensis Day (1877) Canara pearlspot Cichlidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
93 Etroplus maculates (Bloch, 1795) Orange chromide Cichlidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
94 Etroplus suratensis (Bloch, 1790) Pearlspot Cichlidae Brackishwater Endemic Interminate
95 Euryglossa orientalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Oriental-sole Soleidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
96 Eutropiichthys goongwaree (Sykes, 1839) Goongwaree vacha Schilbeidae Freshwater Endemic LC
97 Eutropiichthys vacha (Hamilton, 1822) - Schilbeidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC

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98 Gagata gagata (Hamilton, 1822) Gangetic gagata Sisoridae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
99 Gagata itchkeea (Sykes, 1839) - Sisoridae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
100 Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard, 1853) Mosquito fish Poecillidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NE
101 Garra bicornuta Narayan Rao (1920) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NT
102 Garra emarginata Kurup & Radhakrishnan (2011a) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic Low
vulnerability
103 Garra gotyla gotyla (Gray, 1830) Sucker-head Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
104 Garra gotyla stenorhynchus Jerdon (1849) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
105 Garra hughi Silas (1955) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
106 Garra kalakadensis Rema Devi (1993) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
107 Garra lamta (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
108 Garra mcclellandi (Jerdon, 1849) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
109 Garra menoni Ramadevi & Indra (1984) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
110 Garra mlapparaensis Kurup & Radhakrishnan (2011a) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
111 Garra mullya (Sykes, 1839) Sucker fish Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
112 Garra notata (Blyth, 1860) Tenasserim garra Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
113 Garra periyarensis Gopi (2001) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
114 Garra robustus (Zhang, He & Chen, 2002) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
115 Garra surendranathanii Shaji, Arun & Easa (1996) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
Table 1 continued...
Table 1 continued...
116 Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822) Tank goby Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
117 Glypthothorax conirostre poonaensis Hora (1938) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic EN
118 Glyptothorax anamalaiensis Silas (1952) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic EN
119 Glyptothorax annandalei Hora (1923) - Sisoridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
120 Glyptothorax devisinghi Manimekalan & Das (1998) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic EN
121 Glyptothorax elankadensis Plamoottil & Abraham (2013b) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic NE
122 Glyptothorax housei Herre (1942) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic LC
123 Glyptothorax lonah (Sykes, 1839) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic LC
124 Glyptothorax madraspatanum (Day, 1873) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic EN

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

125 Glyptothorax malabarensis Gopi (2010) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic DD
126 Glyptothorax poonaensis Hora (1938) - Sisoridae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
127 Glyptothorax saisii (Jenkins, 1910) - Sisoridae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
128 Glyptothorax trewavasae Hora (1938) - Sisoridae Freshwater Endemic VU
129 Hemibagrus maydelli (Rossel, 1964) - Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
130 Hemibagrus menoda (Hamilton, 1822) Menoda catfish Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
131 Hemibagrus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849) - Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic CR
132 Hemiramphus xanthopterus (Valenciennes, 1847) Red-tipped halfbeak Hemiramphidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic VU
Marine
133 Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) Stinging catfish Heteropneustidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
134 Heteropneustes longipectoralis Rema Devi & Raghunathan - Heteropneustidae Freshwater Endemic DD
(1999)
135 Hilsha kelee (Cuvier, 1829) Kelee shad Clupeidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
136 Homaloptera menoni Shaji & Easa (1995) - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic LC
137 Homaloptera montana Herre (1945) Anamalai loach Balitoridae Coldwater Endemic EN
138 Homaloptera pillaii Indra & Rema Devi (1981) - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic LC
139 Homaloptera santhampareiensis Arunachalam, Johnson & - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic EN
Rema Devi. (2002)
140 Homaloptera silasi Kurup & Radhakrishnan ( 2011b) - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic NE
141 Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther, 1864) Gunther’s catfish Bagridae Freshwater, Brackishwater Endemic VU
142 Horabagrus nigricollaris Pethiyagoda & Kottelat (1994) Black-collared catfish Bagridae Freshwater Endemic EN
143 Horadandia atukorali Deraniyagala (1943) - Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
144 Horaglanis abdulkalami Babu (2012) - Clariidae Freshwater Endemic NE

383
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145 Horaglanis alikunhi Subhash Babu & Nayar (2004) - Clariidae Freshwater Endemic DD
146 Horaglanis krishnai Menon (1950) Indian blind catfish Clariidae Freshwater Endemic RARE
147 Horaichthys setnai Kulkarni (1940) Malabar ricefish Adrianichthyidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
148 Horalabiosa joshuai Silas (1954) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
149 Horalabiosa arunachalami (Johnson & Soranam, 2001) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR
150 Horalabiosa palaniensis Rema Devi & Menon ( 1994) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
151 Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) Silver carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Introduced NE
152 Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845) Bighead carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Introduced NE
153 Hyporhamphus limbatus (Valenciennes, 1847) Congaturi halfbeak Hemiramphidae Marine Non-endemic LC
154 Hyporhamphus xanthopterus (Valenciennes, 1847) Red-tipped halfbeak Hemiramphidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Endemic VU
Marine
155 Hypselobarbus periyarensis Raj (1941) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
156 Hypselobarbus curmuca (Hamilton, 1807) Curmuca barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
157 Hypselobarbus dobsoni (Day, 1876) Krishna carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic DD
158 Hypselobarbus dubius (Day, 1867) Nilgiris barb Cyprinidae Coldwater Endemic EN

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159 Hypselobarbus jerdoni (Day, 1870) Jerdon‘s carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
160 Hypselobarbus kolus (Sykes, 1839) Kolus Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
161 Hypselobarbus kurali Menon & Rema Devi (1995) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
162 Hypselobarbus lithopidos (Day, 1874) Canara barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic DD
163 Hypselobarbus micropogon (Valenciennes, 1842) Korhi barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
164 Hypselobarbus mussullah (Sykes, 1839) Humpback mahseer Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
165 Hypselobarbus pulchellus (Day, 1870) - Cyprinidae Freshwater No-endemic CR
166 Ichthyocampus carce (Hamilton, 1822) - Syngnathidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
167 Indoreonectes evezardi (Day, 1872) - Balitoridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
168 Johnius belangerii (Cuvier, 1830) Belanger’s croaker Sciaenidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
169 Labeo bata (Hamilton, 1822) Bata Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
170 Labeo boga (Hamilton, 1822) Boga labeo Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
171 Labeo boggut (Sykes, 1839) Boggut labeo Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
172 Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822) Orangefin labeo Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
173 Labeo dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1842) Malabar labeo Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
174 Labeo fimbriatus (Bloch, 1795) Fringed-lipped Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
Peninsula carp
175 Labeo gonius (Hamilton, 1822) Kuria labeo Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
Table 1 continued...
Table 1 continued...
176 Labeo kawrus (Sykes, 1839) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
177 Labeo kontius (Jerdon, 1849) Pigmouth carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
178 Labeo pangusia (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NT
179 Labeo porcellus (Heckel, 1844) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
180 Labeo potail (Sykes, 1839) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
181 Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) Roho labeo Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
182 Laubuca fasciata (Silas, 1958) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
183 Laubuca dadiburjori Menon (1952) Dadio Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
184 Laubuca laubuca (Hamilton, 1822) Indian glass barb Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
185 Lepidocephalus guntea (Hamilton, 1822) Guntea loach Cobitidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

186 Lepidocephalus thermalis (Valenciennes, 1846) Common spiny loach Cobitidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
187 Lepidopygopsis typus Raj (1941) Peninsular hilltrout Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
188 Liza macrolepis (Smith, 1846) Largescale mullet Mugilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
189 Liza parsia (Hamilton, 1822) Goldspot mullet Mugilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
190 Longischistura striata (Day, 1867) - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic EN
191 Lutjanus johni (Bloch, 1792) John’s snapper Lutjanidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
192 Macrognathus guentheri (Day, 1865) Malabar spiny eel Mastacembelidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
193 Macrognathus malabaricus (Jerdon, 1849) - Mastacembelidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
194 Macrognathus pancalus Hamilton (1822) Barred spiny eel Mastacembelidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
195 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede, 1800) Zig-zag eel Mastacembelidae Freshwater Non-endemic Indeterminate
196 Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782) Indo-Pacific tarpon Megalopidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
197 Mesonemacheilus guentheri (Day, 1867) - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Endemic NE
198 Mesonemacheilus herrei Nalbant & Banarescu (1982) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic CR
199 Mesonemacheilus pulchellus (Day, 1873) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic EN
200 Mesonemacheilus triangularis (Day, 1867) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic LC
201 Mesonoemacheilus pambarensis (Rema Devi & Indra, - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic VU
1994)
202 Mesonoemacheilus remadevii Shaji (2002) Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
203 Microphis cuncalus (Hamilton, 1822) Crocodile-tooth pipefish Syngnathidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
204 Mobula thurstoni (Lloyd, 1908) Smoothtail mobula Hemiramphidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NT
Marine
205 Monopterus digressus Gopi (2002) - Synbranchidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD

385
Table 1 continued...
 386
Table 1 continued...
206 Monopterus eapeni Talwar (1991) - Synbranchidae Freshwater Endemic DD
207 Monopterus fossorius (Nayar, 1951) Malabar swamp eel Synbranchidae Freshwater Endemic EN
208 Monopterus indicus (Silas & Dawson, 1961) Bombay swamp eel Synbranchidae Freshwater Endemic VU
209 Monopterus roseni Bailey & Gans (1998) - Synbranchidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
210 Mugil cephalus Linnaeus (1758) Flathead grey mullet Mugilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
211 Mystus armatus (Day, 1865) Kerala Mystus Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
212 Mystus bleekeri, (Day, 1877) Day‘s Mystus Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
213 Mystus cavesius (Hamilton, 1822) Gangetic Mystus Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
214 Mystus gulio (Hamilton, 1822) Long whiskers catfish Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
215 Mystus keletius (Valenciennes, 1840) - Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
216 Mystus malabaricus (Jerdon, 1849) - Bagridae Freshwater Endemic NT
217 Mystus montanus (Jerdon, 1849) Wynaad Mystus Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
218 Mystus oculatus (Valenciennes, 1840) - Bagridae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
219 Mystus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849) - Bagridae Freshwater Endemic CR

Rajesh Dayal et al
220 Mystus seengtee (Sykes, 1839) - Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
221 Mystus viittatus (Bloch, 1794) Striped dwarf catfish Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
222 Nandus nandus (Hamilton, 1822) Gangetic leaffish Nandidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
223 Nangra itchkeea (Sykes, 1839) - Sisoridae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
224 Nemacheilus anguilla Annandale (1919) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic LC
225 Nemacheilus denisoni (Day, 1867) - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Endemic LC
226 Nemacheilus keralensis (Rita Kumari, Banarescu & - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic VU
Nalbant, 1978)
227 Nemacheilus kodaguensis Menon (1987) - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Non-endemic VU
228 Nemacheilus menoni Zacharias & Minimol (1999) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
229 Nemacheilus monilis Hora (1921) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic LC
230 Nemacheilus moreh (Sykes, 1839) - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Non-endemic LC
231 Nemacheilus nilgiriensis Menon, 1987 - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Non-endemic LC
232 Nemacheilus periyarensis Kurup & Radhakrishnan (2005) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
233 Nemacheilus petrubanarescui Menon (1984) - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Endemic EN
234 Nemacheilus ruppelli (Sykes, 1839) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Endemic LC
235 Neotropius atherinoides (Bloch, 1794) Indian potasi Schilbeidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Endemic LC
236 Neotropius khavalchor Kulkarni (1952) Khavalchor catfish Schilbeidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
237 Notopterus notopterus (Pallas, 1769) Bronze featherback Notopteridae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
Table 1 continued...
Table 1 continued...
238 Olyra astrifera Arunachalam, Raja, Mayden & Chandran - Olyridae Freshwater Endemic NE
(2013)
239 Omobranchus punctatus (Valenciennes, 1836) Muzzled blenny Blenniidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
240 Omobranchus zebra (Bleeker, 1868) - Blenniidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
241 Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch, 1794) Butter catfish Siluridae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
242 Ompok karunkodu Ng (2013) - Siluridae Freshwater Endemic NE
243 Ompok malabaricus (Valenciennes, 1840) Goan catfish Siluridae Freshwater Endemic LC
244 Ompok pabo (Hamilton, 1822) Pabo catfish Siluridae Freshwater Non-endemic NT
245 Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) Rainbow trout Salmonidae Freshwater Introduced NE
246 Ophisternon bengalense McClelland (1844) Bengal eel Synbranchidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

247 Oreichthys cosuatis (Hamilton, 1822) Cosuatis barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
248 Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852) Mozambique tilapia Cichlidae Freshwater Introduced NE
249 Oryzias melastigma (McClelland, 1839) - Adrianichthyidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
250 Osphronemus goramy Lacepede (1801) Giant gouramy Osphronemidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
251 Osteobrama cotio cotio (Hamilton, 1822) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
252 Osteobrama vigorsii (Sykes, 1839) Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
253 Osteobrama bakeri (Day, 1873) Malabar Osteobrama Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
254 Osteobrama belangeri (Valenciennes, 1844) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NT
255 Osteobrama bhimensis Singh & Yazdani (1992) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
256 Osteobrama cotio cunma (Day, 1888) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
257 Osteobrama cotio peninsularis Silas (1952) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
258 Osteobrama neilli (Day, 1873) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
259 Osteocheilichthys thomassi (Day, 1877) Konti barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
260 Osteochilichthys brevidorsalis (Day, 1873) Kantaka barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
261 Osteochilus longidorsalis (Pethiyagoda & Kottelat, 1994) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
262 Osteochilus nashii (Day, 1869) Nash’s barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
263 Pangasius pangasius (Hamilton, 1822) Pangas catfish Pangasiidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
264 Pangio bashai (Easa & Basha, 1995) Indian coolie-loach Cobitidae Freshwater Endemic NE
265 Pangio goaensis (Tilak, 1972) Indian coolie-loach Cobitidae Freshwater Endemic LC
266 Parambassis dayi (Bleeker, 1874) Day‘s glassy perchlet Chandidae Freshwater Endemic LC
267 Parambassis ranga (Hamilton, 1822) Indian glassy fish Chandidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
268 Parambassis thomassi (Day, 1870) Western Ghat glassy Chandidae Marine Non-endemic LC
perchlet
269 Parapsilorhynchus discophorus Hora (1921) Ratnagiri minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU

387
Table 1 continued...
 388
Table 1 continued...
270 Parapsilorhynchus prateri Hora & Misra (1938) Deolali minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR
271 Parapsilorhynchus tentaculatus (Annandale, 1919) Khandalla minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
272 Periophthalmus variabilis Eggert (1935) - Gobiidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
273 Pethia pookodensis (Mercy & Jacob, 2007) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR
274 Phoxocampus belcheri (Kaup, 1856) Rock pipefish Syngnathidae Marine Non-endemic NE
275 Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton, 1822) Rice paddy eel Ophichthidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
276 Plotosus canius Hamilton (1822) Gray eel-catfish Plotosidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
277 Poecilia reticulate Peters (1859) Guppy Poecilidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NE
278 Pomadasys argenteus (Forsskål, 1775) Silver grunt Haemulidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic LC
Marine
279 Pristolepis fasciata (Bleeker, 1851) Malayan leaffish Nandidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
280 Pristolepis rubripinnis Britz, Kumar & Baby (2012) - Pristolepididae Freshwater Endemic NE
281 Pristolepis marginata Jerdon (1849) Malabar leaffish Nandidae Freshwater Endemic LC

Rajesh Dayal et al
282 Proeutropiichthys taakree taakree (Sykes, 1839) - Schilbeidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
283 Pseudambassis baculis (Hamilton, 1822) Himalayan glassy perchlet Ambassidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
284 Pseudeutropius mitchelli Gunther (1864) - Schilbeidae Freshwater Endemic EN
285 Pseudolaguvia austrina Radhakrishnan, Sureshkumar & - Erethistidae Freshwater Endemic DD
Ng (2010)
286 Pseudosphromenus cupanus (Cuvier, 1831) Spiketail paradise fish Osphronemidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
287 Pseudosphromenus dayi (Kohler, 1908) - Osphronemidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
288 Psilorhynchus tenura Arunachalam & Muralidharan - Psilorhynchidae Freshwater Endemic CR
(2008)
289 Pterocryptis wynaadensis (Day, 1873) - Siluridae Freshwater Endemic EN
290 Puntius amphibius (Valenciennes, 1842) Scarlet-banded barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
291 Puntius arenatus (Day, 1878) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
292 Puntius arulius arulius (Jerdon, 1849) Arulius barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
293 Puntius arulius tambraparniei Silas (1954) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
294 Puntius assimilis Jerdon, 1849 - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
295 Puntius bimaculatus (Bleeker, 1863) Redside barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
296 Puntius carnaticus (Jerdon, 1849) Carnatic carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
297 Puntius cauveriensis (Hora, 1937) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
298 Puntius chalakudaiensis Menon, Rema Devi & Thobias - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
(1999)
Table 1 continued...
Table 1 continued...
299 Puntius chola (Hamilton, 1822) Swamp barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
300 Puntius conchonius (Hamilton, 1822) Rosy barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
301 Puntius crescentus Yazdani & Singh (1994) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
302 Puntius deccanensis Yazdani & Babu Rao (1976) Deccan barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR
303 Puntius denisonii (Day, 1865) Denison barb Cyprinidae Coldwater Endemic EN
304 Puntius dorsalis (Jerdon, 1849) Long-snouted barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
305 Puntius exclamatio Pethiyagoda & Kottelat (2005) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
306 Puntius fasciatus (Jerdon, 1849) Melon barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
307 Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes, 1844) Black-spot barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
308 Puntius fraseri (Hora & Misra, 1938) Dharna barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

309 Puntius goaensis (Hamilton, 1822) Glass-barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
310 Puntius guganio (Hamilton, 1822) Glass-barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
311 Puntius johorensis (Duncker, 1904) Striped barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
312 Puntius kannikattiensis Arunachalam & Johnson (2003) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
313 Puntius madhusoodani Krishna Kumar, Pereira & - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
Radhakrishnan (2012)
314 Puntius mahecola (Valenciennes, 1844) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic DD
315 Puntius mudumalaiensis Menon & Rema Devi (1992) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
316 Puntius muvattupuzhaensis Jameela Beevi & - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
Ramachandran (2005)
317 Puntius narayani (Hora, 1937) Narayan barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
318 Puntius nigripinnis Knight, Rema Devi, Indra & - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
Arunacghalam (2012)
319 Puntius ophicephalus (Raj, 1941) Channa barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
320 Puntius parrah Day (1865) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
321 Puntius phutunio (Hamilton, 1822) Spottedsail barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
322 Puntius pleurotaenia Bleeker (1863) Black Lined barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LR/cd
323 Puntius rohani Rema Devi, Indra & Knight (2010) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
324 Puntius sahyadriensis Silas (1953) Khavli barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
325 Puntius sarana (Hamilton, 1822) Olive barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
326 Puntius setnai Chhapgar & Sane (1992) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
327 Puntius sharmai Menon & Rema Devi (1993) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic EN
328 Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) Pool barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
329 Puntius thomassi (Day, 1874) Red Canarese barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic CR

389
Table 1 continued...
 390
Table 1 continued...
330 Puntius ticto ticto (Hamilton, 1822) Ticto barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
331 Puntius vittatus Day (1865) Greenstripe barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
332 Rasbora caverii (Jerdon, 1849) Cauvery rasbora Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
333 Rasbora daniconius (Hamilton, 1822) Slender rasbora Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
334 Rasbora labiosa Mukerji (1935) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
335 Rasbora rasbora (Hamilton, 1822) Gangetic scissortail rasbora Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
336 Rhinomugil corsula (Hamilton, 1822) Corsula Mugilidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
337 Rita gogra (Sykes, 1839) Gogra Rita Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
338 Rita macracanthus Ng (2004) - Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
339 Rita pavimentatus (Sykes, 1839) Gogra Rita Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
340 Rita kuturnee (Sykes, 1839) Deccan Rita, Katarnee Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
341 Rita rita (Hamilton, 1822) Rita Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
342 Rohtee ogilbii Sykes (1839) Vatani rohtee Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
343 Salmophasia acinaces (Valenciennes, 1844) Silver razor-belly minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC

Rajesh Dayal et al
344 Salmophasia bacaila (Hamilton, 1822) Large razor-belly Minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
345 Salmophasia balookee (Sykes, 1839) Bloch razor-belly minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
346 Salmophasia belachi (Jayaraj, Krishna Rao, Reddy, - Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
Shakuntala & Devaraj. 1999)
347 Salmophasia boopis (Day, 1874) Boopis razor-belly minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
348 Salmophasia horai (Silas, 1951) Hora razo-rbelly minnow Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic VU
349 Salmophasia novacula (Valenciennes, 1840) Novacula razor-belly Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic LC
minnow
350 Salmophasia untrahi (Day, 1869) Mahanadi razor-belly Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
minnow
351 Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) Spotted scat Scatophagidae Marine Non-endemic LC
352 Schismatogobius deraniyagalai Kottelat & Pethiyagoda Redneck goby Gobiidae Freshwater Non-endemic DD
(1989)
353 Schismatorhynchus (Nukta) nukta (Sykes, 1839) Nukta Cyprinidae Marine Endemic EN
354 Schistura dayi Hora, 1935 - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
355 Schistura nagodiensis Sreekantha, Gururaja, Rema Devi, - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
Indra & Ramachandra (2006)
356 Schistura savona (Hamilton, 1822) - Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
357 Schistura semiarmatus (Day, 1867) - Nemacheilidae Coldwater Endemic LC
358 Schistura sharavathiensis Sreekantha Gururaja, Nemacheilidae Freshwater Non-endemic VU
Rema Devi, Indra & Ramachandra (2006)
Table 1 continued...
Table 1 continued...
359 Sicyopterus griseus (Day, 1877) - Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic LC
360 Silonia childreni (Sykes, 1839) White catfish, Shilond, Schilbeidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Endemic EN
wanjow
361 Sperata aor (Hamilton, 1822) Long-whiskered catfish Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
362 Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) Giant river catfish Bagridae Freshwater Non-endemic LC

Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India

363 Stigmatogobius sadanundio (Hamilton, 1822) - Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NE
364 Strongylura strongylura (van Hasselt, 1823) Spot-tail needlefish Belonidae Brackishwater, Marine Non-endemic NE
365 Syciopterus griseus (Day, 1877) - Gobiidae Freshwater, Brackishwater Non-endemic NE
366 Systomus orphoides (Valenciennes, 1842) Javaen barb Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE
367 Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) Hilsa shad Clupeidae Freshwater, Brackishwater, Non-endemic NE
Marine
368 Thynnichthys sandkhol (Sykes, 1839) Sandkhol carp Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
369 Tinca tinca (Linnaeus, 1758) Tench Cyprinidae Coldwater Non-endemic LC
370 Tor khudree (Sykes, 1839) Deccan mahseer Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
371 Tor kulkarnii Meno (1992) Dwarf mahseer Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
372 Tor malabaricus (Jerdon, 1849) Malabar mahseer Cyprinidae Coldwater Endemic EN
373 Tor putitora (Hamilton, 1822) Putitor mahseer Cyprinidae Freshwater Non-endemic EN
374 Tor remadevii Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2011c) - Cyprinidae Freshwater Endemic NE
375 Travancoria elongata Pethiyagoda & Kottelat (1994) - Balitoridae Freshwater Endemic EN
376 Travancoria jonesi Hora (1941) Travancore loach Balitoridae Coldwater Endemic EN
377 Wallago attu (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Wallago Siluridae Freshwater Non-endemic NT
378 Xenentodon cancila (Hamilton, 1822) Freshwater garfish Belonidae Freshwater Non-endemic LC
379 Zenarchopterus striga (Valenciennes, 1847) Feathered river-garfish Hemiramphidae Freshwater Non-endemic NE

391
392 Rajesh Dayal et al
Table 2 : Endemic status of the fishes of Western Ghats. search option, the information about the species of interest
S. No. Number of species Percentage can be retrieved from the database.
1 Endemic 151 39.84 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
2 Non-endemic 220 58.05 The present compilation documented, 379 fish
3 Introduced 8 2.11 species belonging to 48 families and 143 genus covering
Total 379 100.00 151 (39.84%) endemic, 220 non-endemic and 8 exotic
fish species (Table 1). Several workers who studied the
flora and fauna of this region have mentioned different
level of endemism as per their recorded data (Mercy,
Table 3 : Taxonomic distribution of species under different families.
1981; Easa and Shaji, 1997; Ponniah and Gopalakrishnan,
S . Family Number S . Family Number 2000; Kharat et al, 2001, 2012; Bhat, 2003; Dahanukar
No. of No. of
et al, 2004, 2011; Abraham et al, 2011; Rema Devi et al,
species species
2010; Sahyadri e-news, 2013). Kharat et al (2012)
1 Anabantidae 1 26 Aplocheilidae 3 described 52 taxa with 13 endemic species, (25%) from
2 Badidae 1 27 Clupeidae 3 the river Krishna, Abraham et al (2011) mentioned 25
3 Cyprinodontidae 1 28 Nandidae 3 endemic species (24%) out of 103 taxa from Ashambu
4 Erethistidae 1 29 Osphronemidae 3 hills landscape in Western Ghats, Sreekantha et al (2006)
5 Haemulidae 1 30 Syngnathidae 3 listed 318 taxa with 136 endemic species (43%),
6 Lutjanidae 1 31 Tetraodontidae 3
Dahanukar et al (2011) described 290 taxa with 189
7 Megalopidae 1 32 Chandidae 4
endemic species (65%), Bhat (2003) has reported 92
8 Olyridae 1 33 Cichlidae 4
species with 25% endemicity from 4 rivers Sharavati,
9 Ophichthidae 1 34 Mastacembelidae 4
Aghanashini, Bedti and Kali. The range of endemicity of
10 Pangasiidae 1 35 Mugilidae 4
fishes varies between 40-67% depending on the
11 Plotosidae 1 36 Hemiramphidae 5
geographic region. In the present study, it appears that
12 Pristolepididae 1 37 Siluridae 6
39.84% fishes are endemic to this region. Daniels (2001)
13 Psilorhynchidae 1 38 Ambassidae 6
in his commentary on endemic fishes of the Western Ghats
14 Salmonidae 1 39 Cobitidae 6
mentioned that out of 298 freshwater species found in
15 Scatophagidae 1 40 Synbranchidae 6
India, 114 species are endemic to Western Ghats and some
16 Sciaenidae 1 41 Channidae 6
genus like Eechatthalakenda, Horalobiosa, Bhavania,
17 Adrianichthyidae 2 42 Clariidae 7
Travancoria, Pseudobagrus, Horaglanis,
18 Anguillidae 2 43 Schilbeidae 7
Horaichthys and Paramibassis are endemic to this
19 Belonidae 2 44 Gobiidae 11
region (Table 2).
20 Caesionidae 2 45 Balitoridae 16
21 Heteropneustidae 2 46 Sisoridae 17 Among exotics, goldfish (Carassius auratus
22 Notopteridae 2 47 Nemacheilidae 22 auratus), African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), silver
23 Poecillidae 2 48 Bagridae 25 carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp
24 Soleidae 2 49 Cyprinidae 171 (Ctenopharyngodon idella), common carp (Cyprinus
25 Blenniidae 2 carpio) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)
have been listed in the database. Most of the introduced
species like rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss),
Chineese carps, Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis
Table 4 : Habitat-wise distribution of the fishes of Western Ghats. mossambicus) and even African catfish are now available
Habitat Number of Percentage in the natural waters of this region (Sugunan, 1997; Rema
species Devi et al, 2010; Kharat et al, 2012). The total number
Freshwater 284 74.93 of exotic fishes in the region may be still higher due to
Coldwater 13 3.43 regular import of aquarium fishes, however, this database
Brackishwater 1 0.26 covers only the listed introduced fishes and there is a
Marine 10 2.64 need to prepare an exhaustive list of introduced fishes in
Freshwater+Brackishwater 39 10.29 India for the development of aquaculture, sports fishery,
Brackishwater+Marine 8 2.11 ornamental fish trade and biological control of malaria
Freshwater+Brackishwater+Marine 24 6.33 (Daniels, 2001).
Total 379 100.00 Taxonomic status: The taxonomic status of 379 fish
 Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India 393
Table 5 : Newly discovered fishes from Western Ghats.
Year Species name
2013 Horabagrus melanosoma (Plamoottil & Abraham, 2013a), Glyptothorax elankadensis (Plamoottil & Abraham, 2013b),
Olyra astrifera (Arunachalam, Raja, Mayden & Chandran, 2013), Ompok karunkodu (Ng, 2013)
2012 Balitora laticauda (Bhoite, Jasdhav & Dahanukar, 2012), Dario urops (Britz, Kumar & Baby, 2012a), Horaglanis abdulkalami
(Babu, 2012), Pristolepis rubripinnis (Britz, Ali & Philip, 2012b), Puntius madhusoodani (Krishna Kumar, Pereira &
Radhakrishnan, 2012), Puntius nigripinnis (Knight, Rema Devi, Indra & Arunachalam, 2012)
2011 Garra emarginata (Kurup and Radhakrishnan, 2011a), Garra mlapparaensis (Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2011a), Homaloptera
silasi (Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2011b), Pseudolaguvia austrina (Radhakrishnan et al, 2010), Tor remadevii (Kurup &
Radhakrishnan, 2011)
2010 Betadevario ramachandrani (Pramod, Fang, Rema Devi, Liao, Indira, Jammela Beevi & Kullander, 2010), Glyptothorax
malabarensis (Gopi, 2010), Puntius rohani (Rema Devi, Indra & Knight, 2010)
2008 Psilorhynchus tenura (Arunachalam & Muralidharan, 2008)
2007 Pethia pookodensis (Mercy & Eapen, 2007)
2006 Schistura nagodiensis (Sreekantha , Gururaja, Rema Devi, Indra & Ramachandra, 2006), Schistura sharavathiensis (Sreekantha,
Gururaja, Rema Devi, Indra & Ramachandra, 2006)
2005 Puntius exclamatio (Pethiyagoda & Kottelat, 2005), Puntius muvattupuzhaensis (Jameela Beevi and Ramachandran, 2005),
Nemacheilus periyarensis (Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2005)
2004 Horaglanis alikunhi (Babu & Nayar, 2004), Rita macracanthus (Ng, 2004), Batasio sharavatiensis (Bhat & Jayaram, 2004)
2003 Puntius kannikattiensis (Arunachalam & Johnson, 2003)

Table 6 : Conservation status of fishes of Western Ghats.

ornamental fishes like red - line torpedo barb, red-tailed
S . Status Number Percen- barb, Osteobrama bakeri, Günther’s catfish and
No. of tage
freshwater puffer fish, Tetraodon travancoricus,
species
Carinotetraodon imitator and marine forms like
1. Low vulnerability 1 0.26
Chelonodon patoca), mahseers such as Malabar
2. Low risk conservation dependent 1 0.26 mahseer. Some of the larger commercially important fast-
(LR/cd) growing food fishes captured and sold in the local market
3. Rare 1 0.26 can be taken up as candidate species for aquaculture and
4. Indeterminate 2 0.53 development of fisheries in this region. The few important
5. Critically Endangered (CR) 12 3.17 fishes of this category are - Labeo dussumieri (maximum
size 55 cm), L. ariza (55 cm), L. kontius (61 cm), L.
6. Near Threatened (NT) 12 3.17
fimbriatus (91 cm), Tor khudree (100 cm), T. mussullah
7. Data Deficient (DD) 18 4.75
( 150 cm), T. neilli (30 kg), Gonoprokopterus curmuca
8. Vulnerable (VU) 36 9.50 (120 cm), G. micropogon (60-90 cm), G. thomassi (100
9. Endangered (EN) 53 13.98 cm), Mystus krishnensis (116 cm, 58 kg), Clarias
10. Not evaluated (NE) 72 19.00 dussumieri (50 cm, 3 kg) and Channa micropeltes (100
cm, 20 kg).
11. Least Concern (LC) 171 45.12
Total 379 100.00
Habitat-wise distribution: Analysis of the habitat-
wise distribution of the fishes of Western Ghats showed
species belonging to 49 families and 143 genus were that the water bodies of the regions is dominated by 284
reviewed and has been presented in the Table 3. Among species (74.93%) of freshwater species, followed by 39
49 families, Cyprinidae (171 species) is the most dominant species (10.29%) common to fresh- and brackishwater
family in the region followed by Bagridae (25 species) and 24 species (6.33%) common to fresh-, brackish- and
and Nemacheilidae (22 species). However, there are 16 marine waters. The analysis also revealed that some of
families which are represented by single species, 9 families the fishes are resident to their respective ecosystems and
by 2 species each, 6 families by 3 species each and 4 these are - 13 species (3.43%) coldwater fishes, 1 species
families by 4 species each (Table 3). Western Ghats (0.26%) brackishwater fishes and 10 species (2.64%)
streams are the home of larger commercially important are marine fishes, 8 species (2.11%) are commonly found
fast-growing food fishes and several brilliantly coloured
394
Table 7 : Revision in valid scientific names of fishes of Western Ghats (up to August 2013).
S. No. Old name
1 Aphanius dispar (Rüppell, 1829)
2 Aspidoparia morar (Hamilton, 1822)
3 Clarias dussumieri dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1840)
4 Crossocheilus latius latius (Hamilton, 1822)
5 Euryglossa orientalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
6 Garra robustus (Zhang He & Chen, 2002)
7 Glypthothorax conirostre poonaensis (Hora, 1938)
8 Horaichthys setnai (Kulkarni, 1940)
9 Horalabiosa joshuai (Silas, 1954)
10 Lepidocephalus guntea (Hamilton, 1822)
11 Lepidocephalus thermalis (Valenciennes, 1846)
12 Liza macrolepis (Smith, 1846)
13 Mesonemacheilus guentheri (Day, 1867)
14 Mesonemacheilus pulchellus (Day, 1873)
15 Mesonemacheilus triangularis (Day, 1867)
16 Mystus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849)
17 Nangra itchkeea (Sykes, 1839)
18 Proeutropiichthys taakree taakree (Sykes, 1839)
19 Puntius arulius arulius (Jerdon, 1849)
20 Puntius arulius tambraparniei (Silas, 1954)
21 Puntius assimilis (Jerdon, 1849)
22 Puntius carnaticus (Jerdon, 1849)
23 Puntius conchonius (Hamilton, 1822)
24 Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes, 1844)
25 Puntius kannikattiensis (Arunachalam & Johnson, 2003)
26 Puntius muvattupuzhaensis (Jameela Beevi & Ramachandran, Pethia muvattupuzhaensis (Jameela Beevi & Ramachandran,
2005)
27 Puntius phutunio (Hamilton, 1822)
28 Puntius pleurotaenia Bleeker (1863)
29 Puntius rohani Rema Devi, Indra & Knight (2010)
30 Puntius sarana (Hamilton, 1822)
31 Puntius setnai (Chhapgar & Sane, 1992)
32 Puntius ticto ticto (Hamilton, 1822)
33 Rita pavimentatus (Sykes, 1839)
34 Schismatorhynchus (Nukta) nukta (Sykes, 1839)
35 Schistura semiarmatus (Day, 1867)
Source : www.fishbase.org
in brackish- as well as marine waters (Table 4).
Discovery of new species
As a result of explorations made under different
projects, several new species have been reported from
Rajesh Dayal et al
New name
Aphasias dispar dispar (Rüppell, 1829)
Cabdio morar (Hamilton, 1822)
Clarias dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1840)
Crossocheilus latius (Hamilton, 1822)
Brachirus orientalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Placocheilus robustus (Zhang, He & Chen, 2002)
Glyptothorax conirostris (Steindachner, 1867)
Oryzias setnai (Kulkarni, 1940)
Horalabiosa joshuai (Silas, 1954)
Lepidocephalichthys guntea (Hamilton, 1822)
Lepidocephalichthys thermalis (Valenciennes, 1846)
Chelon macrolepis (Smith, 1846)
Nemacheilus guentheri (Day, 1867)
Nemacheilus pulchellus (Day, 1873)
Nemacheilus triangularis (Day 1865)
Hemibagrus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849)
Gagata itchkeea (Sykes, 1839)
Proeutropiichthys taakree (Sykes, 1839)
Dawkinsia arulius (Jerdon, 1849)
Dawkinsia tambraparniei (Silas, 1954)
Dawkinsia assimilis (Jerdon, 1849)
Barbodes carnaticus, (Jerdon, 1849)
Pethia conchonius (Hamilton, 1822)
Dawkinsia filamentosa (Valenciennes, 1844)
Haludaria kannikattiensis (Arunachalam and Johnson, 2003)
2005)
Pethia phutunio (Hamilton, 1822)
Systomus pleurotaenia (Bleeker, 1863)
Dawkinsia rohani, (Rema Devi Indra & Knight 2010)
Systomus sarana (Hamilton, 1822)
Pethia setnai (Chhapgar & Sane, 1992)
Pethia ticto (Hamilton, 1822)
Rita gogra (Sykes, 1839)
Schismatorhynchos nukta (Sykes, 1839)
Nemacheilus semiarmatus (Day,1867)
the freshwaters of Western Ghats. 30 new species were
described during the last decade (2003-2013), not included
in some of the lists published earlier, have been included
in this checklist (Fig. 1).
Discovery of new species from this biodiversity
 Fish biodiversity of Western Ghats Region of India
Fig. 1 : Recent trend in discovery of new fish species from the Western Ghats region.
hotspot region shows that six species were described in
2012, five species in 2011, three species in 2010 and most
importantly four new species were discovered in 2013,
with a scope that more species can be discovered in
future. The details of the species along with references
have been presented in Table 5. Among the new species
discovered, five new species of the genus Puntius
namely, Puntius madhusoodani, P. rohani, P.
kannikattiensis, P. exclamatio, P. muvattupuzhaensis,
two species of genus Garra, Garra emarginata and G.
mlapparaensis, two species of the genus Schistura,
Schistura nagodiensis, S. sharavathiensis and one
species from the genus Balitora, Homaloptera,
Pseudolaguvia, Betadevario, Psilorhynchus, Pethia,
Nemacheilus, Rita and Horaglanis were published
during the last decade. Thereafter, the three new species
like Balitora jalpalli, Glyptothorax elankadensis,
Olyra astrifera and Ompok karunkodu were
discovered during January-August 2013. Horaglanis
abdulkalami, a new hypogean blind catfish (Siluriformes:
Clariidae) from Kerala named after the former President
of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, has been discovered
from the dugout well of Irinjalakuda, Trichur District,
Kerala (Babu, 2012). Arunachalam et al (2013) described
Olyra astrifera a new species of olyrid catfish from the
Western Ghats. Ompok karunkodu, a new catfish
(Teleostei: Siluridae) from southern India was described
by Ng (2013) http://www.worldfish.de/sci.htm).
Assessment of the threatened status of the fishes of
Western Ghats presented that 12 (3.17%) species are
Critically Endangered, 53 (13.98%) Endangered (EN),
171 Least-concern (LC), 12 Near-threatened (NT), 18
Data Deficient (DD), 36 Vulnerable (VU), 1 species
Indian blind fish Horaglanis krishnai Rare (Mercy,
1981), 1 species at Lower-Risk, Conservation-Dependent
395
(LR/cd), 2 Indeterminate, 1 Low-Vulnerability and 72
species Not- Evaluated (NE) (Table 6).
Some of the species such as Tor musullah, Cirrhinus
cirrhosa, Labeo dussumieri, Labeo kontius,
Horabagrus brachysoma and Gonoproktopterus
curmuca are at higher risk of getting extinct (Ponniah
and Gopalakrishnan, 2000). With the growing international
trade of ornamental fishes, some of the fishes like Puntius
denisonii, Tetraodon travencorius, Horabagrus
nigricollaris and several species of the genus Puntius,
Danio, Garra, loaches, bagrids and cichlids are in great
demand in domestic as well as international market as
aquarium fish. These fishes are being collected from
natural habitats and exported resulting into drastic decline
in their natural population.
Coldwater fishes
Sehgal (1999) described 102 species from the Western
Ghats region from the water bodies situated between 750-
2000 m altitude. Southern India is globally recognized for
sport fisheries, specially for giant mahseers. Out of 102
fish species, Tor khudree, T. tor, T. putitora, T.
mussullah, some major and minor carps and selected
catfishes from the major rivers in this region contribute to
the sport fishery which was further strengthened with
the introduction of exotics including rainbow trout in the
upper streams of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Cyprinus carpio, Carrassius carassius, Tinca tinca,
Orechromis mossambicus and Onchrhynchus mykiss
were introduced in the uplands of Western Ghats as sports
and food fishes. Other native fishes of the major genera
Barilius, Puntius, Osteochilus, Labeo, Garra,
Nemacheilus, Channa, Mystus and Glyptothorax
dominate in the fisheries of this region (FAO, Technical
Paper No. 385). There are several small and large lakes,
reservoirs as well as streams with fairly low temperature
396 Rajesh Dayal et al
and other conducive physico-chemical parameters to
support the coldwater fisheries of the region. Top priority
should be given for the sustainable utilization and
conservation of the native species, approach should be
developed for the ranching of native coldwater species
(Raimas spp., Schizothorax spp. etc) for rehabilitation
and sustainable utilization.
Revision in nomenclature of fishes
The names of the fishes are being revised globally
retaining the accepted valid scientific names over the
synonyms and junior synonyms. Revision in valid scientific
names of the fishes occurring in the waters of Western
Ghats have been summarized in Table 7.
CONCLUSION
The present compilation provides the revised checklist
of 379 species of fishes with latest taxonomic
nomenclature and information on common name, family,
habitat, endemicity and conservation status. Based on the
present study, it is suggested to expand the areas of
research programme in this hotspot region involving
experts in a network mode. Therefore, more aquatic
explorations through network research projects are
recommended in order to document the current pattern
of distribution of the species. There is also need to update
the database over time interval using GIS techniques.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to the Director, National
Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow for providing
facilities, constant support and valuable suggestions.
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