Comparison of electrophoretic and meristic characters of 0-group eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea

Abstract

Marked differences between continental samples of American and European eels have been detected electrophoretically in allele frequencies at the MDH-2 locus. Starch gel electrophoresis carried out on board F. R. V. "Anton Dohrn" during the eel expedition to the Sargasso Sea in 1979 revealed a similar clear-cut genetic difference in a sample of 0-group Anguilla leptocephali, thus confirming the classical theory of Schmidt (1932). The MDH-2 genotypes provide an additional diagnostic character for the distinction between young A. anguilla and A. rostrata leptocephali. Species identification by biochemical genetic characters did not correspond with that by meristic characters (myomere numbers) in ca. 13 % of the specimens studied; this discrepancy mainly concerns leptocephali of the A. anguilla genotype. The results obtained are critically discussed. © 1982 Biologische Anstalt Helgoland.