Status, distribution, and morphometric analysis of the genus Trichopodus in Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Trichopodus, the genus of dwarf gourami fish, is the oldest genus in the Osphronemidae family, with six valid species, three of which are found in Sumatra. In this study, the status, distribution, and morphometrics of Trichopodus leerii, T. pectoralis, and T. trichopterus from Sumatra were observed and analyzed. Although these species can be distinguished based on phenotypic characteristics, it is still possible to misidentify them in small or preserved samples. In this study, analyses were carried out on specimens in the collection of the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, combined with literature on the species status. The results showed that T. trichopterus and T. pectoralis were in the least concern category. T. trichopterus had the widest distribution, followed by T. pectoralis. T. leerii had the smallest distribution and is in a near-threatened conservation status. Further analysis revealed that 23 of the 25 measured morphological characteristics were informative, with the first three axes of a principal component analysis on morphometric data explaining 51.28% of the total variance in the sample. The three species were distinguished using a combination of pectoral fin length, eye diameter, pelvic fin length, and anterior snout width. Cluster analysis showed that there is consistency in the morphometrics of the species from various sample locations, where the same species are in the same clade. This research contributes to our understanding of the status and distribution of the species in genus Trichopodus and employs morphometric analysis to provide a practical key to classifying them in Sumatra.