Morphological variations and molecular phylogeny of Oryzias sarasinorum Popta, 1905 (Ricefish) from Lake Lindu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Zainal S, Tellu AT, Kasim A. 2022. Morphological variations and molecular phylogeny of Oryzias sarasinorum Popta, 1905 (Ricefish) from Lake Lindu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 3443-3451. Oryzias sarasinorum Popta, 1905 is a well-studied species endemic to Lake Lindu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia and identified as scarce. This study aims to describe the morphological variation and phylogeny of Oryzias sarasinorum Popta, 1905 from Lake Lindu, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. This research was conducted in February 2022. 10 samples were collected and preserved on 95% ethanol for morphological analysis and molecular purposes. Our morphological analysis showed that the meristic counts, morphometric measurement, and phylogenetic analysis also resolved that the samples that were analyzed are indeed an endemic species of O. sarasinorum from Lake Lindu. Finally, we expect there are future studies that pay attention to well-resolved phylogenies and thereby remove additional noise from the analysis. The research data are expected to contribute to the preservation and utilization of one of Indonesia's important biodiversity resources.