Morphological study of selected mudskipper species (Family: Oxudercidae) and development of key pictorial

• Published in: Iranian Journal of Ichthyology
• Main Author: Abdul Rahman M.A.F.; Azmir I.A.; Hussin N.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iranian Society of Ichthyology 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85173765008&doi=10.22034%2fiji.v9i4.808&partnerID=40&md5=aa12e4cf52664806aa2b7a95fc12c8cf

Mudskippers (Oxudercidae) are euryhaline fish found in mudflats, sandy beaches, and mangrove swamps. Owing to the high abundances of mudskipper species in Peninsular Malaysia, the identification process is found challenging. The purpose of this study was to identify selected species of mudskipper from selected mangroves in Terengganu, east coast of Peninsular Malaysia according to morphometrical variations and development of key pictorial of mudskipper. A total of 63 mudskippers were collected using a fish net in Marang (n= 30) and Setiu (n= 33). Quantitative data on the morphometric characteristics of each individual were identified namely Periophthalmus gracilis, P. variabilis and P. argentilineatus. One-way analysis of variance showed significant differences (P<0.05) in 10 out of 16 morphometric characteristics among the three species. In the casewise statistics analysis, 92.1% of the mudskippers were correctly classified into their original groups on average. The canonical variate analysis (CVA) scatter plot showed the segregation of three identified mudskipper species into three distinct groups. In the cluster analysis, UPGMA dendrogram indicated the segregation of the three species into two distinct clades, and P. gracilis and P. variabilis were included in the sister group, whereas P. argentilineatus was in a separate clade. The development of the key pictorial of mudskippers showed that 10 species from five genera were successfully recognized and distinguished by comparing their body parts as key indications. This study will be helpful to researchers acquiring information for identifying mudskippers especially from the genus Periophthalmus. © 2022 Iranian Society of Ichthyology.