Differentiation of three species of the genus Upeneus (Mullidae) based on otolith shape analysis

Abstract

The shapes of sagittae are compared in three related species of the genus Upeneus (U. tragula, U. margarethae, and U. sundaicus) from North Vietnam (Ha Long Bay). Morphological parameters of otoliths (length, width, perimeter, and area), shape indices (length–width and squared perimeter-area ratios, form factor, roundness, rectangularity, and ellipticity), and elliptic Fourier descriptors are used for the comparative analysis. The three species differ in the coefficients of linear equations approximating relationships between the morphological parameters of otoliths and body length of the fish as well as in shape indices. Based on elliptic Fourier analysis and multivariate statistics (principal component and canonical discriminant analyses), U. sundaicus differs from U. tragula and U. margarethae, and the two latter species are closely related to each other.