Possible link between the structure of otoliths and amphibious mode of life of three mudskipper species (Teleostei: Gobioidei) from the Persian Gulf

Ghanbarifardi, Mehdi; Gut, Carolin; Gholami, Zeinab; Esmaeili, Hamid Reza; Gierl, Christoph and Reichenbacher, Bettina (2020): Possible link between the structure of otoliths and amphibious mode of life of three mudskipper species (Teleostei: Gobioidei) from the Persian Gulf. In: Zoology in the Middle East, Vol. 66, No. 4: pp. 311-320

Abstract

The otoliths of three mudskipper species from the Persian Gulf that are characterised by different degrees of amphibious adaptation were examined using SEM imaging and otolith morphometry.Scartelaos tenuis, which is the most aquatic of the three species, has rhomboid to rectangular otoliths that conform to the general otolith type of many marine gobiid species. The otoliths ofPeriophthalmus waltoni, which is one of the most amphibious mudskipper species, are pentagonal-shaped and deviate from the usual otolith type of the Gobiidae by the absence of a posterodorsal projection and deep ostial lobes.Boleophthalmus dussumieriis intermediate with respect to its amphibious adaptation betweenS. tenuisandP. waltoni, and the shape of its otoliths is intermediate between the otoliths of those two species. Otolith morphometry related to sulcus measurements more clearly separatedP. waltonifromB. dussumieri, thanS. tenuisfrom eitherP. waltoniorB. dussumieri. AsP. waltoniandB. dussumierican occur syntopically and display similar behaviours, the morphometric disparity of their sulcus proportions might be related to efficient intraspecific communication among neighbouring species.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Geosciences > Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Subjects: 500 Science > 550 Earth sciences and geology
• ISSN: 0939-7140
• Language: English