A preliminary freshwater fish checklist and distribution of Penang Integrated Agriculture Development Authority Irrigation Canal System, Malaysia (Seberang Perai Utara Case Study) AMIR SHAH RUDDIN MD SAH 1* , MUHAMAD SYAFFIQ SYAZWAN MUSTAFA 1 , MOHD. SYAIFUL MOHAMAD 1 , 2 , MOHD SHAFIQ ZAKEYUDDIN 1 , and ZARUL HAZRIN HASHIM 1 , 3 Abstract: A preliminary study of fish inventory within Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) and Penang Integrated Agriculture Development Authority (IADA) irrigation canals system was conducted at six different sampling stations by using three sets of cast net from October 2011 to February 2012. In situ water parameters indicated that SPU and IADA irrigation canals are in good and healthy condition that support a lot of aquatic organisms such as fishes. A total of 22 species consisted of 11 families with 942 specimens was captured and identified during the study period. Cyprinidae is the dominant family recorded, which represents 45.6% of the total number of species recorded followed by Bagridae and Osphronemidae (9.2 % each) and another eight fish families with 4.5 % each. The first five dominant species can be found at all sampling stations. The species are Osteochilus hasseltii, which represents 27.3% of the total specimens captured followed by Pristolepis fasciatus (18.6%), Puntius altus (16.0%), Anabas testudineus (13.1%) and Cyclocheilichthys apogon (10.3%). This study also showed that armored catfish (Hypostomus plecostomus) has been widely distributed in Penang IADA irrigation canals that three out of six sampling stations are positive recorded. This inventory study should be extended and continued as the species checklist present here is a preliminary checklist that is yet to cover the entire Penang IADA irrigation canals. Key words: agroecosystem, canal, checklist, distribution, fish, Penang. INTRODUCTION According to Ali (1998), Shah et al. (2008) and Shahrul Anuar et al. (2009), rice- agroecosystem in Malaysia is a special type of wetland that supports varieties of terrestrial and aquatic floras and faunas. Although this rice-agroecosystem experiencing extreme changes in physical and chemicals factors during paddy cultivation periods, this ecosystem becomes one of the important areas for many migratory and non-migratory birds species for resting and foraging areas. The largest rice-agroecosystem area and important for rice production in Peninsular Malaysia is located at Muda floodplain areas and managed by Muda Agriculture Development Authority (MADA) (Shah and Ali, 1998; Shah et al., 2008; Shah and Ali, 2009; Shahrul Anuar et al., 2009). However, the rice production from Muda rice agroecosystem is still not enough for Malaysian consumption due to limited rice cultivation area although the rice is being cultivated three times a year. Therefore several other areas have been identified to develop intensive rice cultivation areas similar to Muda floodplains with an intensive development of infrastructures such as canals, drainages and road networks, agricultural and training extension to farmers. Malayan Nature Journal 2018, 70(4), 449 -456 449 1 School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang. 2 Pulau Banding Rainforest Research Center, Pulau Banding 33300 Gerik, Perak. 3 Center for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang. *Email: amirshah@usm.my