J. Env. Bio-Sci., 2014: Vol.

28 (2): 323-324 ISSN 0973-6913 (Print), ISSN 0976-3384 (On Line)

EXPLORATION OF FISH DIVERSITY IN THE MAHI RIVER AT SEMLIYA VILLAGE NEAR

TO BANSWARA CITY OF RAJASTHAN STATE
H.S. Banyal and Sanjeev Kumar
Desert Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Jodhpur-342005, Rajasthan, India.
email: dr.harinderbanyal@gmail.com, dr.kumarsanjeev@gmail.com

Received: 10-10-2014 Accepted: 17-11-2014

Present research communication deals with exploration of fish diversity of Mahi River at Semliya village near Banswara city of
Rajasthan state. Mahi is a perennial river of southern Rajasthan and is very important from fisheries point of view .Hence, the river
was surveyed in the year 2014. Thirteen species of fishes belonging to seven families under five orders were recorded from the
study area. Cypriniformes was the dominant order represented by seven species followed by Perciformes and Siluriformes each
represented with two species. Osteoglossiformes and Beloniformes were represented by one species, each.

The Mahi a perennial river in western India, arises in the western
Vindhya Range, just south of Sardarpur, and flows northward
through Madhya Pradesh state. Turning northwest, it enters
Rajasthan state and then turns southwest to flow through
Gujarat state and meets in Bay of Khambhat after about a
580-km course. The Mahi basin extends over states of Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat having total area of 34,842
Sq.km with a maximum length and width of about 330 km and
250 km. It lies between 72°21' to 75°19' east longitudes and
21°46' to 24°30' north latitudes. It is bounded by Aravalli hills
on the north and the north-west, by Malwa Plateau on the
east, by the Vindhyas on the south and by the Gulf of Khambhat
on the west. The Som is its principal tributary which joins
from right, and the Anas and the Panam joins the river from
left. It drains into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Khambhat.
The major part of basin is covered with agricultural land
accounting to 63.63% of the total area and 4.34% of the basin
is covered by water bodies. It is one of three west-flowing rivers
in India, along with Tapti River and the Narmada River. The
exact position of Mahi River origin is Minda Village, which is
situated in Dhar district Madhaya Pradesh. On the River Mahi
there is a dam named as Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam or Mahi dam
with 16 gates in it and is situated 16 kilometres (fig.1) from
Banswara town in Banswara district Rajasthan, India. The dam
was constructed between 1972 and 1983 for the purposes of
hydroelectric power generation and water supply. A reservoir
has also come into existence after the construction of this
dam. This reservoir supports good fishery and contributes to
economy of Rajasthan state. Present studies were conducted
near to this reservoir at Semliya village located nearby to
Banswara town.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fishes were collected mainly by using cast nets. Hand, scoop
and drag net were also used. The fishes were preserved in
10% formalin for further studies and were identified following
standard references1-2.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Southern region of Rajasthan consists of stony uplands
setting ideal sites for water resource developments with the
maximum numbers of man-made lakes. Mahi River basin and
its main tributaries Jakham, Som, and Anas cover the southern
part of the state. A perfect understanding of the Ichthyofaunal
diversity of a system is an essential prerequisite for successful
implementation of fisheries development, sustainable utilization
of fishery resources and for adopting suitable conservation
measures. The fish taxonomy is one of the important
parameters for assessment of fishery in a river. Documentation
of biodiversity has become very much important aspect to
understand different ecosystem and influences on them. The
River Mahi was surveyed during 2014 at Semliya village from
fisheries point of view. Water level was fair at the point of study.
A total of 13 fish species were reported from the area of study
whereas workers have reported 34 fish species from the Mahi
River, Kadna and Mahi Bajaj Sagar reservoir3. Cypriniformes
was the dominant order with seven species, which is a common
feature for inland fish diversity4, 5 followed by Perciformes and
Siluriformes each represented with two species besides
Osteoglossiformes and Beloniformes each represented with
one species. Due to fair water level and presence of plankton
 Exploration of Fish Diversity in the Mahi River (324)

Fig. 1. Area of Study

in majority of the area of study, fish diversity was reasonably 10)Channa punctata (Bloch, 1793)
good at the area of study. The status of all the fishes found in Family: Ambassidae
this zone of River Mahi is common. Less number of Indian
11)Chanda nama Hamilton, 1822
major carps in total fish catch was probably due to illegal
Order: Osteoglossiformes
fishing. This activity was noticed rampant during the period of
study and seems to be a serious threat to the fishes, particularly Family: Notopteridae
during the breeding period. 12)Notopterus notopterus (Pallas,1769)
List of the fishes with classification is given below: Order: Beloniformes
Class: Actinopterygii Family: Belonidae
Order: Cypriniformes 13)Xenentodon cancila (Hamilton, 1822)
Family: Cyprinidae ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1)Pethia ticto (Hamilton, 1822) Authors are thankful to Dr. K.Venkataraman, Director, Z.S.I.,
2)Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) Kolkata for providing necessary facilities to undertake present
work.
3)Systomus sarana (Hamilton, 1822)
REFERENCES
4)Barilius bendelisis (Hamilton, 1807)
1. Talwar, P.K. and Jhingran, A.G. (1991). In: Inland Fishes
5)Rasbora daniconius (Hamilton, 1822)
of India and adjacent countries. (Vols. 1 & 2). Oxford
6)Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822)
and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi (2) XiX+1158.
7)Osteobramma cotio cotio (Hamilton, 1822)
2. Jayaram, K.C (1999). In: The Freshwater Fishes of the
Order: Siluriformes Indian region. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi, India.
Family: Bagridae 3. Khatri, I. C.; Kakkar, V. K. and Sharma, K. P. (1986). Intl. J.
8)Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) Acad. Ichthyol., 7(1):21.
Family: Heteropneustidae 4. Jhingran V.G. (1991). In: Fish and Fisheries of India.
9)Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) Hindustan Publ. Co. India, Delhi.
Order: Perciformes 5. Battul, P.N., Rao, K.R., Navale, R.A., Bagale, M.B. and
Family: Channidae Shah, N.V. (2007). J. Aqua. Biol., 22(2) : 68.