The effective management of protected areas requires a deep knowledge of the natural resources they contain.Although several rivers flow through the Taï National Park, very few detailed survey on fish diversity has been conducted so far in this Park.As a matter of fact, the present study is the first to investigate the ichtyofauna of the segment of Sassandra River which is under strict protection.Samplings were carried out on three different sites respectively on January 2012, November 2012 and September 2013. In total, 45 species distributed in 6 orders and 13 families were collected. Five species (Clariasebriensis, Malapterurus barbatus, M. beninensis, M. minjiriya and M. tanoensis) were reported for the first time from Sassandra basin. The richness and diversity indices were significantly different from upstream to downstream (p<0.05). In contrast, the evenness (E) was not significantly different both study areas. Zakoue area which account for less than 1% of Sassandra river area contains more than 45 % of total species fishes. These results indicate that Tai National Park plays an important role in the conservation of aquatic biodiversity of Sassandra basin.
