Abstract
A systematic survey of Rapti River was
conducted once in a month for a period of one
year from August 2018 to July 2019 from ten
collection sites of Shravasti and Balrampur
districts. Its main aim was to find out ichthyofaunal
diversity and their conservation status.
The results of the present study revealed the
occurrence of 46 species belonging to 30 genera
19 families and 9 orders. The family Cyprinidae
were dominated by 13 species followed by
Bagridae (6 species); Ophiocephalidae (4 species);
Siluridae (3 species); Schileidae, Clariidae,
Gobiidae, Notopteridae and Mastacembeleidae
each with two species; Saccobranchidae,
Chacidae, Ophiocephalidae, Gobiidae,
Anabantidae, Nandidae, Osphronemidae,
Ambassidae, Clupeidae, Eugraulidae, Belonidae
and Tetradontidae each with one species. The
fishes in these areas are under threat due to
anthropogenic activities such as overfishing and
pollution hence authors strongly recommend
practical conservation action plan to prevent the
species from extinction.