Meristic, morphometrics and Length-Weight Relationship of tropical silverside, Atherinomorus duodecimalis (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1835) in seagrass and mangrove habitats of Tinggi Island, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract

The present study describes the meristic, morphometric and Length Weight Relationship (LWR) of tropical silverside, Atherinomorus duodecimalis (Atheriniformes: Atherinidae) an important fishery in the Sea grass and mangrove habitat of Tinggi Island, Johor, Malaysia. A series of sampling survey was conducted in seagrass and mangrove habitats of Tinggi Island, using beach seine net. A total of 94 specimens (3.7-10.3 cm TL) used in this study. The results showed that meristic and morphometric features of the fish studied agreed well with a description of the holotype specimen MNHN A. 4382 and other silverside specimens. The only exception was observed in the upper jaw length and eye diameter as a percentage of head length. The allometric coefficient h' of the length weight relationship indicated negative allometric growth (b<3.0) in seagrass habitat and positive allometric growth (b>3.0) in mangrove habitat. To the best knowledge of the authors, this study presented the first reference on LWR for this species from Johor waters, Malaysia. © 2012 Academic Journals Inc.