An investigation of freshwater ichthyofaunal availability and abundance in Nibaran Sayer Lake (Locally known as Saheb Bandh Wetland) in the Purulia District of West Bengal, India's Lower Chota Nagpur Plateau

Abstract

Recent research of the lesser-known important Wetland of Purulia, in West Bengal, India's Lower Chota Nagpur Plateau. Looked at freshwater fish fauna concerning the country's rare and endangered freshwater fish species. 59 species under 43 genera, 22 families, and 9 orders of fish diversity from Saheb Bandh wetland, Purulia, were found between March 2024 and May 2025 during a one-year, three-month survey study. It was found that, among the nine orders in total as collected, the order Cypriniformes (53%) was found to have made the largest contribution overall. The conservation status of the surveyed species found in Saheb Bandh wetlands, with 53 species classified as Least Concern (LC), 3 as Near Threatened (NT), and 2 as Vulnerable (VU), and one under the Endangered (EN) category. Amblypharyngodon mola was the most common, as shown in Table 1 and Fig. 6. Its dominance percentage was 5.87% and followed by the same percentage of two species, Badis badis and Labeo rohita (4.62%).