Morphological variation of Golden mullet, Liza aurata, of southern coasts of the Caspian Sea

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Morphological features of Golden mullet (Liza aurata) population in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea were studied. A total of 228 fish specimens were collected from Bandar Anzali, Kiashahr, Babolsar and Bandar Turkman in Iranian waters. A combination of Truss network, traditional system and few meristic counts were simultaneously applied to the sample set. Statistically high significant morphometric differences were observed between the four L. aurata stocks. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences between the means of samples for 10 out of 25 standardized morphometric measurements of truss system, 3 out of 7 measurements of traditional morphometric system and also the number of second dorsal fin spines, soft rays of second dorsal fin, total number of pectoral fin rays, soft rays of anal fin, number of squmosum scales and pyloric caeca among meristic counts. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 76% and 70.3% of individuals into their origina.....