TITLE:
Morphometric Relationships among the Clariid Fishes of the Lake Victoria Basin, Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Chacha John Mwita
KEYWORDS:
Morphology, Regression, Clariids, Lake Victoria
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Marine Science,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
2,
2015
ABSTRACT: Six hundred and
fifty-eight specimens of the Clariidae were collected from seven localities in
the Lake Victoria basin and the Malagarasi wetland, Tanzania. A total of three
hundred unadjusted morphometric measurements and meristic counts were analysed
with the aim of assessing the adequacy of morphometric technique to delineate
the clariid species occurring in theLake Victoriabasin. Results showed that
morphometrics augmented by multivariate analysis (PCA, DCA and cluster
analysis) amalgamated the clariid fishes into three groups, theClarias alluaudi/C. werneri,C. gariepinus/C. liocephalusandClariallabes petricola.
Although other workers have used this technique, the present study concluded
that, standing alone morphometrics is not a substitute for external morphology
in the identification of clariid fish species, as it failed to separate the
clariids into their respective taxonomic species. The technique, however,
insinuates the regressional morphological relationships among the clariids
occurring in the Lake Victoria basin.