The diversity of fish fauna in Baran dam of district Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK), Pakistan

Present study deals with the diversity of fish fauna found in Baran Dam of district Bannu. Although, vast studies have been conducted largely on the systematic, biodiversity and ecology of freshwater fishes found in the different regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to improve fisheries. However, the diversity of fish fauna has never been adequately addressed in the Baran dam of district Bannu. In this connection, the diversity of freshwater fishes of Baran Dam was studied and assessed from February 2013 to May 2014. We documented and described 15 freshwater fish species of Baran Dam that were belonging to the 4 orders and 6 families and 11 genera. Among them, nine species were belonging to the family Cyprinidea, while the remaining other families i.e., Channidea, Mastacembelidea, Notopteridae and Cichlidae were represented by only single species. Hence, the result of our present study would provide useful information about the diversity of fish fauna of Baran dam that could be later valuable in the systematic, fisheries management and conservation.