Meristic and morphometric comparison of an undescribed sucker of the Río Culiacán (Catostomus sp.) and Yaqui sucker (Catostomus bernardini) (Catostomidae, Teleostei) from the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico

Abstract

Meristic and morphometric analyses and comparisons were conducted between an undescribed sucker of Río Culiacán (Catostomus sp.) and a Yaqui sucker (Catostomus bernardini) from the rivers Yaqui, Fuerte and Conchos in the Sierra Madre Occidental. A discriminant function analysis based on 44 characters (37 morphometric and 7 meristic) of 96 adult specimens yielded 20 characters to be significantly different (p < 0.01) between the species. The morphological characters separating the populations of Río Culiacán basin (Humaya and Tamazula sub-basins) from those of rivers Fuerte, Río Yaqui and Río Conchos were associated with the highest values for number of gill rakers, posterior insertion of dorsal fin to posterior insertion of pelvic fin, posterior insertion of dorsal fin to posterior insertion of anal fin, and basal length of anal fin. Likewise, the discrimination was associated with the lowest values for predorsal distance, soft posterior ocular margin to occiput, and number of anal rays. The standardized coefficients for canonical variables 1 and 2 accounted 82.6% of the total variation. Specimens examined from the Río Culiacán basin represent an undescribed species in the Sierra Madre Occidental and they exhibit the lowest altitude distribution known for the members of this complex.