A checklist of fishes of Kerala, India

Abstract

A checklist of the fishes of Kerala State is presented, along with their scientific and common names (English and Malayalam), endemism, IUCN Red List status, listing under different Schedules of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and in the Appendices of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Nine Hundred and five species of fishes are recorded from the inland and marine waters of Kerala comprising of 41 orders and 172 families. Close to 30% of the freshwater fish species found in Kerala are endemic to the State. Only 8% of the total fishes of Kerala are listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List, of which the majority are freshwater species. Several hundred fish species occurring in the marine waters of Kerala have not yet been assessed for their conservation status by IUCN.