A Study on the Morphometric Variation in Selected Ichthyofauna under Genus Puntius Hamilton-Buchanan (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Abstract

Morphometric studies were conducted using eleven quantitative body parameters of six species of Puntius genus-Puntius chola, P. gelius, P. conchonius, P. sophore, P. sarana sarana and P. ticto ticto occurring from Assam, India, in order to study the morphometric variation and interrelationship among these species. All measurements were taken on a continuous scale using digital vernier caliper parallel to the anterior-posterior body axis except for the body depth that was taken perpendicular to the body axis between dorsal and ventral margins. The means of all measurements were standardized. A correlation study between total length vs. other morphometric parameters and a multivariate principal component analysis were conducted using MS Excel and bdpro32 software. The results obtained showed a significant correlation between total length and other morphometric parameters (p < 0.05) except for total length and pre-orbital length. The scores of PC1, PC2 and PC3 were found to be most similar for P. sarana sarana and P. gelius indicating these two species to be most closely related followed by P.ticto ticto , P. chola and P. conchonius, while the PC scores of P. sophore were the most dissimilar. The findings of this study will help in developing new strategies for conservation and breeding programmes of these species.