Ichthyofaunal diversity of Tlawng river, Mizoram, India

The present study was undertaken to assess the ichthyofaunal diversity of Tlawng River, Mizoram, India. Surveys were conducted during the period of December, 2020 to January, 2021 at two different sites of the river. Fishes were caught using different fishing nets and gears. Collected fishes were identified to the lowest possible taxon using taxonomic keys. A total of 64 species of fish belonging to 8 orders, 22 families and 45 genera were collected. The order Cypriniformes dominated the collections comprising 47% of the total fish species collected followed by order Siluriformes comprising 30% of the total species. IUCN status shows six as Not Evaluated, two as Data Deficient, forty-seven as Least Concern, five as Near Threatened, three as Vulnerable and one as Endangered. The biggest threat of the river being unsustainable fishing and over-exploitation.