Ichthyofauna of Okpara Stream, a Tributary of Oueme River, Benin, West-Africa

Abstract

In tropical Africa, and particularly in Benin, running waters dwell a high and valuable fish fauna that are almost unknown, but under severe degradation. The current study inventoried the fish biodiversity of the Okpara stream, the main tributary of the Oueme River (the largest in Benin), in order to fill the gap of ichthyological data and to improve habitat protection, species conservation and valorization. During 18 months, fish samplings were made monthly with various fishing gears on five (5) locations. A total of 53 fish species belonging to 30 genera, 14 families and 7 orders were recorded among a total of 9552 individual fish collected. The most representative families were Mormyridae with 9 species and Cichlidae with 8 species, then follow Mockokidae, Clariidae, Cyprinidae and Alestidae with 6, 6, 6, 4 species, respectively. Families such as Anabantidae, Bagridae, Claroteidae, Malapteruridae, Polypteridae and Schilbeidae were less represented and individually included 2 species. The Hepsetidae and Aplocheilidae were represented by one (1) species, respectively the African pike, Hepsetus odoe and Epiplatys bifasciatus. A holistic scheme of ecosystem management and species conservation requires a complete knowledge on the fish community structure, ecotoxicology and species ecological status.