Freshwater Fishes of Central India: A Field Guide

India is rich in its Indian Fish Fauna with about 940 species known from its rivers, lakes and estuaries. This Constitutes about 38% of the Indian ichthyofauna, which are of considerable economics and scientific value. Of these about 500 species are primary freshwater fishes with around 65% endemic, cloistered in the two hot spots of India, the Western Ghats and the North East. Today freshwater fishes are considered to be the world’s most threatened group of vertebrates after amphibians. However, threats to these fauna are aplenty, with urbanization, deforestation, habitat loss, pollution, over-harvesting, culture of exotics and the like looming large and centinelan extinction already at work. The only way for a nature lover is to save the fish and its habitats by creating awareness among the people. In this context, knowledge of the fish fauna of a region is the first step towards conservation. This pictorial field guide describing 116 species from Central India will serve as a handy tool to hook the beginner and other nature lovers into this field.