Science Letters

Veterinary / Animal Sciences | Research article

Exploring Fish Fauna of River Siran, Mansehra, Pakistan

Liaqat Ali 1, Haroon 2, Nasib Khan 1, Muhammad Ali Shah 1*

1 Department of Zoology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Main Campus, Sheringal, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2 College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xian, China

Abstract

Fishes are cold-blooded vertebrates having scales on their whole body to protect them from any foreign material. The study of the diversity of fishes in an essential part of science. The present research aimed to explore and identify the fish species of river Siran. The specimens were collected with the help of cast net, automatic rod, hook net and hand net. The present study was conducted at river Siran, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, during June-August 2013. The most abundant collected and identified species was Schizothorax plagiostomus, 25 (33.3%) followed by Cyprinus carpio, 20 (26.7%) and Crossocheilus diplocheilus, 18 (24%), while the least abundant species was Triplophysa choprai, 12 (16%). The largest fish species was S. plagiostomus (20.5 cm) and the smallest fish species was T. choprai (10.5 cm). We concluded that the family Cyprinidae has the maximum number and Balitoridae has the minimum number of fish species. We recommend that the study area should be explored on a large scale to protect the fish habitat loss and educate the local population about the importance of fish farming.