Indigenous ornamental freshwater ichthyofauna of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India: status and prospects: Fishes Checklist

Ornamental fishes are the most popular pet throughout the world and figh demand for these fishes has made them an important component of the world fish trade. India contrfibutes a very meager percentage to the world ornamental fish trade; but considering the high ichthyofaunal diversity it has the potential to compete with the world’s leading ornamental fish producers in the near future. Sundarban Biosphere Reserve has abundant waterbodies with rich fish diversity. Although some research has been carried out on ichthyofaunal resources off the Sundarban; detailed documentafion on freshwater indigenous ornamental ichthyofaunal resources off this region is sill not available. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study has been conducted to list the indigenous ornamental ichthyofaunal resources of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve along with their conservation status and their prospective utilization for improved livelihood of local communities. Eighty four species belonging to 11 orders, 28 families and 59 genera were collected from the study area with species representing the order Cypriniformes dominating the ichthyofauna. Nine species have been listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Indigenous fish species of the Sundarban having great potential to support domestic as well as the international ornamental fish trade from India in near future. The ornamental fish species would also be able to generate alternate livelihood options for the impecunious communities of the Sundarban. However, serious concern must also be paid to the conservation of these fish species as some of them are under near threatened categories of IUCN Red list.观赏鱼是全球最受欢迎的宠物品类，其旺盛的市场需求使其成为全球水产贸易的重要组成部分。印度在全球观赏鱼贸易中占比极低，但鉴于其极为丰富的鱼类区系多样性，该国有望在未来跻身全球顶尖观赏鱼生产国行列。孙德尔本斯生物圈保护区（Sundarban Biosphere Reserve）拥有众多水体，鱼类区系多样性丰富。尽管此前已有针对孙德尔本斯区域鱼类区系资源的相关研究，但该区域淡水原生观赏鱼类区系资源的详细系统性记录仍属空白。为填补这一研究空白，本研究对孙德尔本斯生物圈保护区的原生观赏鱼类区系资源进行了名录整理，并同步记录其保护现状，以及用于改善当地社区生计的潜在开发利用方式。本次调查共采集到隶属于11目、28科、59属的84种鱼类，其中鲤形目（Cypriniformes）为该区域鱼类区系的优势类群。其中9个物种被列入《IUCN濒危物种红色名录》的近危（Near Threatened）等级。孙德尔本斯的原生观赏鱼类有望在未来助力印度国内及国际观赏鱼贸易的发展。此类观赏鱼类还可为孙德尔本斯的贫困社区提供替代性生计选择。但鉴于部分物种已被纳入IUCN红色名录的近危等级，因此必须高度重视此类鱼类的保护工作。