Morphometric parameters of the sagitta otolith among four carangids species in the Persian Gulf

Abstract

Otoliths are considered as very useful structures of fishes for various studies. This investigation was aimed to compare morphometric parameters between right and left otoliths of males and females fishes amongst four species belong to the family Carangidae from the northern Persian Gulf. The morphometric parameters such as weight, length, width, area and perimeter were measured and then compared between males and females and pairs of sagittal otoliths. The relationships between otolith morphometric parameters (length, width, weight) and fork length were also examined. According to the results from independent sample t-test, significant differences were found in length, width, and area of otoliths between males and females of C. malabaricus, meanwhile no significant differences were found for three other species. The otolith weight of C. caeruleopinnatus and M. cordyla were significantly different between left and right otoliths (P<0.05). Likewise, a significant difference was found in otolith area between right and left otoliths of C. caeruleopinnatus (P<0.05). Also, no significant differences were found in shape indices including form factor (FF), roundness (RD), aspect ratio (AR), circularity (C), rectangularity (R) and elipticity (E) between the right and left otoliths. The results suggest that length and weight of sagittal otolith are likely suitable indicators for fish fork length in all studied species.