Language: English
From the introduction:
"The natural history of the fishes occurring in Bastar district in Madhya Pradesh, India, are being presented in this paper. A systematic account on fishes of Bastar is not much known except for Hora (1938). During the period 1978-1980 field surveys in Bastar district were conducted and representative examples of fish from the localities detailed in the list of collecting stations were collected. The present paper deals with the aforesaid material which comprises 100 species belonging to 45 genera and 19 families. Of these, two species, viz. Clupisomo bastari and Panthus saberi have been established (Datta and Karmakar, 1980, 1981).
Dubey and Mehra (1959) worked on the fish and fisheries of Chambal river and listed 71 species of fishes. Hora (1938) reported 13 species of fishes from Bailadila range, Bastar district. Hora (1940) described 43 species of fishes from the headwaters of the Mahanadi river, Raipur district, Central Provinces. Hora and Nair (1941) reported 40 species of fishes from the Satpura range, Hoshangabad district, Central Provinces. Soni (1959, 1960) found 35 species of fishes in Bhopal lower lake and 43 species of fishes in Bhopal upper lake respectively. Menon (1951) discussed the role of the Eastern Ghats in the distribution of Malayan fauna and flora to peninsular India. The present fish collections were made in the head waters of the Godavari and Mahanadi river systems, namely Indravati river, Saberi river, Mahanadi, Duhnadi and Kukri (Bhor) river. Collections were also made from lakes, tanks, and other water masses.
The general topography of the area is mainly mountainous intersected with rivers and rivulets. The valleys are undulating with dry, mixed, deciduous forests consisting mainly of Sal, Teak, Mahua, Tamarind, Tendu, Jamun, Mango, Peepal, Palm, Bamboo, Babbul and various kinds of creepers. The undercanopy consists of grasses (ghonar, kussad). Termite mounds are very common in the forest.
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