Telangana’s water bodies home to 143 fish species: Study

Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Studies (OU) director Dr. Chelmala Srinivasulu said 12 of the 143 species were threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List

Hyderabad: Telangana’s waters appear to be much richer than one could have imagined all these years. A study recently conducted by zoologists from Osmania University on the fish diversity in the State has revealed the presence of 143 species of fishes in the waters here.

According to the study, of these, two species – Rita bakalu and Indoreonectes telanganaensis, are fishes restricted in their distribution to the State. These are found in the Godavari River and its tributaries in northern Telangana. Another species, Pangasius silasi, is restricted to the Nagarjuna Sagar area of Krishna River, and has been recorded both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Studies (OU) director Dr. Chelmala Srinivasulu said 12 of the 143 species were threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List. Seven of the endangered species included Bangana nukta, Clarias magur, Hypselobarbus curmuca, Hypselobarbus mussullah, Labeo potail, Thynnichthys sandkhol and Silonia childreni while the remaining five were Cirrhinus cirrhosus, Gagata itchkeea, Hypselobarbus kolus, Salmostoma horai and Wallago attu.

According to the zoologists, about nine per cent of the known fish diversity was represented by introduced or exotic species. It was to be noted that the exotic species – especially the carnivorous ones, have been documented to negatively impact the native fish fauna and have led to drastic declines in native fish fauna in the State, they said.

“Due to paucity of verified records, voucher specimens and recent taxonomic changes, as many as 46 species of fishes that were earlier reported to be present in the waters in Telangana have been removed from the list. This is perhaps the first such comprehensive list that attempts to provide baseline data on the fish diversity in Telangana,” they said.

The Centre intends to maintain an online database on the fish diversity that will be updated from time to time as and when a verified record of hitherto unknown species or new species is recorded or reported from Telangana, Dr. Srinivasulu said.

He said the Centre of Excellence also plans to initiate work on DNA barcoding the native fish species of Telangana to create a barcode database which would enable future researchers to verify their findings and help application of modern molecular techniques in fish studies.
A checklist of Fishes of Telangana has been published in the recent issue of the international peer-reviewed Journal of Threatened Taxa.

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