engleski

Phenotypic characteristics of four-spotted megrim Lepidorhombus boscii (Risso, 1810) in the eastern Adriatic Sea

The four-spotted megrim Lepidorhombus boscii (Risso, 1810) is a demersal flatfish distributed on soft bottoms in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean and Black Sea at depths between 60 and 500 m, mostly from 200 to 300 m [1]. It feeds mainly on pelagic fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans [2, 3]. In this study, a total of 270 specimens of the four-spotted megrim L. boscii were biometrically analyzed. A total of 18 morphometric and 6 meristic features were measured. Samples were collected monthly, from July 2020 to June 2021, in the central eastern Adriatic Sea, by bottom-trawl net. The sample consisted of 145 females (53.7%) and 125 males (46.3%). Sex was determined macroscopically according to the shape and appearance of gonads. The total body lengths of analyzed individuals ranged from 12.5 to 34.0 cm (mean ± st.dev. = 20.96 ± 3.54 cm). Wider ranges of analyzed values were found in males for 11 morphometric measures, while for 7 morphometric features the range was wider in females. The differences in the mean values of the analyzed morphometric measurements between males and females showed a statistical significance (t-test, P < 0.05) only in the ratio of pectoral fin length to standard body length (Lp/Ls). The differences in the mean values of the analyzed meristic features between males and females were observed only in the number of vertebrae (t-test, P < 0.05). The data represent the first complete biometric description of L. boscii in the Adriatic Sea.

Lepidorhombus boscii, Adriatic Sea, biometry

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