Ichthyofaunal Diversity of Kangsabati River at Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal, India

Fish faunal diversity and their abundance vary to a great extent in respect to physical, chemical and biological parameters of the water body. The present study deals with the fish biodiversity and distribution with respect to several physicochemical characters of the habitat, from August-2013 to January-2015 in the Kangsabati River, Paschim Medinipur District of West Bengal. Occurrence of 45 fish species belonging to 8 orders, 17 families and 29 genera have been noted during the study period. It is evident that the members belonging to Cyprinifomes constitute 41 % of the total fish fauna of the river. Fluctuation in occurrence and abundance of the species are influenced by a number of physicochemical parameters viz. pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, conductivity and suspended solids.