Comparative morphology of the sagittal otolith in Serranus spp. |
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| Authors: | V M Tuset† A Lombarte‡ J A González J F Pertusa MJ Lorente§ |
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| Institution: | Instituto Canario de Ciencias Marinas, Departamento de Biología Pesquera, P. O. Box 56, E‐35200 Telde (Las Plamas) Canary Islands, Spain,;Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig Joan de Borbós/n, 08039, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and;Departamento de Biología Animal (U. Morfología Microscópica), C/Moliner 50, Universdad de Valencia, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Variations in the morphology of saccular otoliths (sagittae) among three sympatric species of the genus Serranus ( S. atricauda , S. cabrilla and S. scriba ) from the Canary Islands were investigated. Although the otolith gross morphology was similar among species, S. scriba was distinct in having a rostrum which had a slight turning at the tip and a more funnel‐like ostium. The shallower water species ( S. scriba ) had otolith and sulcus areas which were smaller than the deeper water species ( S. cabrilla and S. atricauda ). The sulcus acusticus and ostium size were correlated with the habit depth of the species, with the highest values in the deepest species, S. cabrilla . The otolith outline shape indices changed with size (total length) of the species, and allowed the separation of the species by means of a discriminate function. |
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| Keywords: | fishes morphology sagitta Serranus taxonomy |
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