FISH FAUNA OF PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE 1 V.J. Zacharias, A.K. Bhardwaj and P.C. Jacob2 Key Words: fishes, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India The status and distribution of fishes in the rivers and the lake of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala was studied and 35 species belonging to 7 orders and families were recorded. The family Cyprinidae contained 1 1 maximum numberofspecies (13). Thirteen species offishes collected duringthestudy areendemic to Southern Western Ghats. Two new species, namely Lepidopygopsis typhus (Schizothoracinae) and Cmssocheilus pehyurensis(Cyprinidae) were recorded from Periyarwhile another, Echathalakanda Barbus opliiocephalus ( ) (Cyprinidae) was rediscovered from Periyar river. Introduction described a small scaled Barbel, Cmssocheilus periyarensisand rediscovered aCyprinid fishBarbus The rivers in Kerala once harboured a rich fish (Puntius) opliiocephalus(Raj) from the Periyar river fauna according to earlier investigators like Pillay adding two more species of fishes to the fish fauna ( 1929), John (1 936), Hora (1941 a,b), Raj (1941a,b), of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Chacko (1948), Silas (1951a, b). But very little The purpose of this paper is to present a status information is available on the present status of the report ofthe fish fauna of Periyar Tiger Reserve for freshwater fishes ofKerala, which are threatened by making comparative studies in future. It will also be over exploitation, introduction of exotic fishes, helpful to identify the conservation problems and habitat destruction and pollution. In the midlands recommend managcement measures. and lowlands of Kerala many fishes have become A locally extinct and are disappearing fast. limited Study area number of them remain in the hills; in protected areas. Periyar Tiger Reserve lies between 9° 16' and Periyar is known to support several interest- 9° 40’ N. lat. and between 76° 55’ and 77° 25' E. ing and important fishes. Some preliminary studies long. It is bordered by Kottayam and Pathanamthitta were done on the fish fauna ofPeriyar (Raj 194 1 a,b; districts in the west and south, Peermade Taluk of Chacko 1948, Silas 1951a, b). Very little is known the Idukki District in the north and Madurai district about the current status offish fauna in this reserve. of Tamil Nadu in the east. The elevation of the Chacko, made an attempt to make a survey of the Reserve ranges from 800 to 2019 m. Several peaks indigenous fish fauna in 1 946, with a view to develop rise above 1600 m the prominent peak being the fishery. He listed 35 species offishes in the lake. Vellimala (2019 m). Raj (1941a) has described a small scaled River, Periyar which originates from schizothoracine, Lepidopygopsis typus Raj, from Km Chokkampetti-Kallimalai side, about 58 from the Periyar river and Hora (1941a) has des- Thekkady with its various tributaries form the main cribed, from Mr. Jone’s collection a Homalop- drainage ofthe area. The lake, which was formed as terid loach, Travancoria jonesi, from Travan- a result of the construction ofthe dam has an area of core. 26 sq. km. Maximum depth ofwater at highest watei Menon and Jacob (1991) have more recently level is 46 m. Two other rivers, Pamba and Azhutha also flow along the border of the reserve in the 'Accepted August 1995. -Periyar Tiger Reserve. Thekkady, Kerala 685 536. Vallakkadavu range. 40 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURALHIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 93(1996) Table 1 FISH FAUNA OF PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE Name of (he Species Local/Tribal Locality Relative General Name abundance distribution Order CYPRINIFORMES Family Cyprinidah Subfamily cyprininae 1. Cyprians carpio communis (Linn.) Goldfish Lake only Common Exotic species 2. Puntius melanostigma (Day) Kudukunda River & Lake Very common in India; Hill streams of Kerala, lake Nilgiris. 3. Puntins melanampyx (Day) Kudukunda River & Lake Very common in India; Hill streams of Kerala, lake Nilgiris. 4. Puntms (impliibius (C. & V.) Kooral Azhutha, Pamba Common India; Peninsular India, Sri Lanka. 5. Punlius nuthecoUt (Val.) Karuva/Paral n n ii ii 6. Puntiusfilameiitosus - 11 11 ii (Valenciennes) 7. Echatlialakanda opliioceplialus Eetilakanta River above Rare India; Kerala Hill stream. (Raj) Mlappara Rediscovered from Mlappara. Ummikkuppanthodu 8. Tor khudree (Sykes) Kuyil River & Lake Common India; Deccan and P. India; Sri Lanka. 9. China mullya (Sykes) Kallemutti River & Reservoir Common India; Hill streams of P. India. 10. Garni gotyla steiiorliynclius ii n ii ii India; Western Ghats, Cauvery &. (Jerdon) Krishna drainages. Hypsilobarbus kurali Kooral Stream & Lake ii India; Dakshina Kannada to 1 1 . (Menon & Rema Devi) Travancore Hills. 12. H. periyarensis (Raj) Kariyan Fast flowing rivers ii India; Kerala, Periyar. 13. Crossoclieilus periyarensis Karimbachy River above (Menon & Jacob) Thannikudy Rare ii Subfamily schizothoracinae 14. Lepidopygopsis typus Raj Brahmana Periyar above river India; Kerala, Periyar river system. Konda Subfamily rasborinae 15. Parluciosoma daniconius Kannanjon Lake, Azhutha Very common India; Sri Lanka. Pakistan, Nepal, (Ham.) stream Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand. 16. Barilius bendelisis (Ham.) Pavukan Thannikudy, Common India; Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh. Lake, River 17. B.bakeri Day ii India; Kerala, W. Ghats. 18. B. I'atensis (C. & V.) ii ii ii Peninsular India, W. Ghats. 19. Danio aequipinnatus Azhutha, Pamba Very common India; Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, (McClell.) Thailand. Family Homalopteridae 20. Travancoriajonesi Hora Kallotty Rivers above Rare India; W.Ghats, High Ranges of Thannikudy Kerala. Family Cobitidae 21. Lepidocephalus thermalis Ayira Lake/River Common P. India; Sri Lanka. & (C. V.) 22. Noemaclieilus botia Ayira Small streams Rare Hill stream ofTravancore. 23. N. triangularis n ii ” India; W. Ghats. FISH FAUNA OF PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE 41 Table (Contd.) 1 Name ofthe Species Local/Tribal Locality Relative General Name abundance distribution 24. N. evezardi Ayira Small streams Rare India; W. Ghats and Madhya Pradesh. Order SILURIFORMES Family Heteropneustidae 25 Heiewpneustes fossilis Kary Lake Very Common India; Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal. . (Bloch) FamilySiluridae 26. Ompok himaculatus (Bloch) Chottavala Lake India; Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar,Thailand,Java. Sumatra, Borneo. Family Sisoridae 27.Glyptothomx madnispatanwn Parayotti Thannikudy Uncommon India; W. Ghats. (Day) Order ANGUILLIFORMES Family Anguillidae 28. Anguilla bengalensis Mlanjil Azhutha Uncommon India; Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar. Order ATHERINIFORMES Family Cyprinodontidae 29. Aplocheilus lineatus lineatus Poonjan River & Lake Very Common Peninsular India. Order FERCIFORMES Family Cichlidae 30. Oreochmmis mossambica (Peters) Thilapi Lake Very common Introduced. Family Channidae 31. Channa striata (Bloch) Varal Lake Rare India; Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Malaya, Malaya Archipelago, Thailand up to Philippines. 32. C.orientalis (Bloch & Schn.) Vatton Lake & Rivers 11 India; Iran, Afganistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Yunan, Malaya, Malay Archipelago, Hainan, and Taiwan. n 33. C. maintins Cherumeen Azhutha, Pamba India; Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo, China. MASTACEMBELIFORMES Order Family Mastacembelidae 34. Mastacembelus anuatus (Lacep.) Aaron River, Lake Common Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, India, Myanmar, Malaya to South China. 35. Macrognatbus oral ii Vazhukkappara Rare India; Pakistan, Sri Lanka, & (Bloch Schn.) stream Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal. Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Malaya and East Indies. Materials and Methods The collections were made from the Periyar river, Fish samples were collected from January, Mullayar river, and their tributaries and different 1992 to December, 1994 from different localities in areas of the reservoir; boat landing, near dam, the rivers and lakes while conducting wildlife studies. Mullakkudy, Manakkavala, Swamikkayam and 42 JOURNAL BOMBAYNATURALHIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 93(1996) Padikkayam. Fishes were also collected from rivers (Ham.), Cyprinus ccirpio communis (Linn.), Pamba and Azhutha. Oreochromis mossambica(Peters), etc., are restricted Fishes were collected by gill-nets, cast-nets, to lentic waters of the reservoir. hooks and bait. Worms, grasshoppers, small fishes, Among the hillstream fishes Crossocheilus & fruits ofsome trees, boiled tapiocaand even rice paste periyarensis (Menon Jacob), a rare species was a were used as baits. For collecting small fishes, a new discovery from Periyar. Another fish which was special method called ‘Watty” was used. Some were believed to be extinct, Barbus ophiocephalus (Raj) collected from local fisherman. Fishes were was rediscovered. Lepidopygopsis typus (Raj), preserved in 5% formalin and identified in the Hypsilobarbus kurcdi (Menon & Rema Devi), Tor laboratory. khudree (Sykes), Travancoriajonesi(Hora) are some of the endemic species of the Southern Western Results and Discussions Ghats. Preliminary studies on the food habits of Tor (through stomach content examination) Thirtyfive species of fishes, representing 21 have indicated that this species took a variety of genera and 1 1 families were collected and identified fruits. (Table 1). Morphological particulars of these species are available in Day (1876-88), Flora ( 1 94 1 a,b), Conservation and Management Silas ( 195 1 a,b), Munro (1955), Talwar and Jhingran (1991). Out of the 33 species mentioned in the list “Mannan” and “Paliyans” (local tribals) above ofChacko (1948), species YikeMystuscavasius(Ham.), forty years of age speak of abundant fish in all the M. vittcitus (Bloch), Notopterus notopterus (Pallas), rivers, especially in Periyar and in the reservoir in etc., were neither found in the reservoir nor in the past. According to them, this abundance was due the tributaries of Periyar and Pamba during this to undisturbed conditions of Periyar, Mullayar and survey. theirtributaries. But now all these areas are disturbed The species Parluciosomci daniconins (Ham.), by indiscriminate fishing, deforestation, hunting, Puntius melanamphyx (Day), Hypsilobarbus kurcdi etc. In addition, new exotic fishes which were (Menon & Rema Devi), Garni mullya (Sykes) were introduced to the reservoir, namely Oreochromis collected from almost all localities of the reservoir. mossambica(Peters) and Cyprinus carpio communis Among these 35 species, about 3 species are usually compete with native species of fishes for food and 1 found in upper streams and are adapted to lotic habitat. torrential waters. They are Travancoria jonesi (Hora), Garra mullya (Sykes), Garni gotyla Recommendations stenorhynchus (Jerdon), Tor khudree (Sykes), Hypsilobarbus periyarensis (Raj), Crossocheilus Fishing activities in Periyar should be 1. periyarensis (Menon & Jacob), Barbus controlled. ophiocephalus (Raj), Lepidopygopsis typus (Raj), 2. Fishing during monsoon, which is the breed- Noemache us evezardi (Day), Glyptotliorax ing season of most of the fishes should be il madraspatanum (Day), Barilius bakeri (Day), banned. & B.bendelisis(Ham.) and B. gatensis(Cuvier Val.). 3. Research should be conducted for assessing Some ofthem are adapted to cling to the substratum population density and habitat requirements ol by some attachmentdevices, e.g. Garra, Travancoria fishes in the rivers and lake. and Glyptotliorax. 4. Remove the introduced fishes from the Fishes like Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch), reservoirand restock with fingerlings ofspecies Ompaok bimaculatus (Bloch), Channel striatus like Torkhudree (Sykes), which has sport value. & (Bloch), C.orientalis (Bloch Schn.), C.marulius 5. Sport fisheries could be developed to cater to . . FISH FAUNA OF PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE 43 the needs of tourists in the tourist zone Acknowledgements which could generate revenue for the Wc arc grateful to Dr. A.G.K. Mcnon for his Government. suggestions and constructive comments on an early 6. Puntius melanampyx could be used as an draft of this paper. We thank Dr. M.P. Thobias for his aquarium fish. suggestion and help. Sri C.P. Shaji and 7. Plant trees on the lake edges for providing food Sri P. Muhammed Jafer assisted in the collection of for species like Tor. specimens. Refer [•:ncfs Chacko, P.l. (1948): Development ofFisheriesofthe Periyarlake. 1901-1915. J. Bombay uat. Hist. Soc. 33: 347-379. ./. Bombay not. Hist. Soc. 48: 191-192. Raj B.S. (1941a): A new genus of Schizothoracine fishes from Day, F. ( 1886-1888): Fishes of India, London. Travancore, South India. Rec. hul. Mus. 43: 209-214. Hora, S.L. (1941a): Homalopterid fishes from peninsular India. Raj, B.S. 1941b): Two new Cyprinid fishes from Travancore. ( Rec. hul. Mus. 43: 230-231 South India, with remarkson Barbus(Puntius)micro/ioyon. Hora, S.L. ( 1941b): TheFreshwaterfish ofTravancore. Rec. hul. Cuv. & Val. Rec. hul. Mus. 43: 375-386. Mus. 43: 234-256. Silas E.G. (1951a): On a collection of fish from the Anamalai John, C.C. (1936): Freshwaterfishes'and fisheriesofTravancore. and Nelliampathi Hills ranges (Western Ghats) with notes ./. Bombay nut. Hist. Soc. 38: 702-783. on its zoogeographical significances. ./. Bombay not. Hist. Mf.non, A.G.K. & PC. Jacob (1996): Crossoclieihisperivarensis, Soc. 49: 670-681. a new Cyprinid fish from Thannikudy (Thekkady), Kerala, Silas E G. (1951b): Fishes from High Range of Travancore. J. S. India. ./. Bombay nut. Hist. Soc. 93(I): 62-64. Bombay uat. Hist. Soc. 50: 323-330. Monro, I.S.R. (1955): The marine and fresh water Talwar, PK. & A.G. Jiiingran (1991): Inland Fishes of India fishesofCeylon. Canberra(Dept.External Affairs), pp. 351 andadjacentcountries: Vol. 1 & 2. Oxford& IBH Publishing Pillay, R.S.N. ( 1929): A list of fishes taken in Travancore from Co. Pvt. Ltd.