Morphological variability of individual colour forms of Cyprinus carpio haematopterus of different origin

Abstract

The relevance of the work on the study of morphological indicators of koi lies in the increased attention at international koi exhibitions to such external indicators as colour, shape, and body proportions of fish that occupy high prize places and receive monetary rewards of hundreds of thousands of US dollars. The purpose of the work was to study the morphological features of various coloured forms of various origins. Such indicators are not taken into account in traditional fish breeding, which also adds novelty to the conducted research. 280 koi samples were selected for analysis. The work evaluated the variability of plastic features of fish of individual colour forms (magoi, kumonryu, utsurimono, kohaku, kawarimono, bekko, doitsu bekko, doitsu kawarimono) of different origins (Japanese, Turkish, Israeli, and Ukrainian). As a result of the work, it was established that there was not found a statistically significant difference between different colour forms of the same origin. At the same time, a reliable difference was established in fish of Israeli origin in terms of features characterizing the shape and proportions of the head in relation to the proportions of the body. The distribution of morphological indices of the studied individuals of different samples in the space of the main components also confirms the reliable differences of the Israeli morphotype from fish of Japanese, Turkish, and Ukrainian origin according to the characteristics related to the ratios of the head parts and body proportions. The obtained data is the basis for the work of breeders and breeders of koi carp who wish to grow valuable specimens – potential winners of international koi carp competitions