Freshwater fauna and habitat characteristics of rivers in the Southern Western Ghats, India

We recorded 64 species belonging to 6 orders, 14 families and 31 genera. Alteration in the micro and macro habitats in the system severely affects the aquatic life especially fishes and also complicates the fish taxonomy.

In the present study a total of 31 sites of six river systems of Southern Western Ghats were studied in which a total of 64 species belonging to 6 orders, 14 families and 31 genera were recorded. Among the 64 species Cyprinidae was the dominant family with 3 family 18 genus and 49 species (76.6%) compared to other order and families, further the data analyses suggested that species belonging to the order Cypriniformes were found to be the dominant species in the locations considered in the present survey.