<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Morphological features of sagittal otoliths in <italic>Pagellus acarne</italic>, <italic>P. bogaraveo</italic>, and <italic>P. erythrinus</italic> samples collected from the Aegean Sea were used to assess the variability both between <italic>Pagellus</italic> species and between otolith pairs employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contour shape analysis. Twenty-one otolith morphological characters were compared in detail using SEM analysis. Twelve of these characters differ between <italic>Pagellus</italic> species and are suitable for distinguishing between the three congeneric <italic>Pagellus</italic> species. Wavelet functions of otolith contour shape were compared for six <italic>Pagellus</italic> groups. The wavelet functions obtained from the contour shape analysis showed high variability in the antero-dorsal, postero-dorsal, and antero-ventral regions of otoliths among the six groups analyzed. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) of the wavelet data provided a clear distinction between the groups under study. Cluster analysis supported the PCA results and basically divided them into two main branches. One of these branches contained only <italic>P. erythrinus</italic>, while <italic>P. acarne</italic> and <italic>P. bogaraveo</italic> were present in the other branch. This is the first study to provide detailed morphological characters and wavelet analysis of left- and right-side otoliths in these three congeneric <italic>Pagellus</italic> species from the Aegean Sea.</p>
</abstract>

Morphological features of sagittal otoliths in Pagellus acarne, P. bogaraveo, and P. erythrinus samples collected from the Aegean Sea were used to assess the variability both between Pagellus species and between otolith pairs employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contour shape analysis. Twenty-one otolith morphological characters were compared in detail using SEM analysis. Twelve of these characters differ between Pagellus species and are suitable for distinguishing between the three congeneric Pagellus species. Wavelet functions of otolith contour shape were compared for six Pagellus groups. The wavelet functions obtained from the contour shape analysis showed high variability in the antero-dorsal, postero-dorsal, and antero-ventral regions of otoliths among the six groups analyzed. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) of the wavelet data provided a clear distinction between the groups under study. Cluster analysis supported the PCA results and basically divided them into two main branches. One of these branches contained only P. erythrinus, while P. acarne and P. bogaraveo were present in the other branch. This is the first study to provide detailed morphological characters and wavelet analysis of left- and right-side otoliths in these three congeneric Pagellus species from the Aegean Sea.

Morphological variability of otolith organs in three congeneric <italic>Pagellus</italic> species

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Morphological variability of otolith organs in three congeneric  species

Morphological features of sagittal otoliths in Pagellus acarne, P. bogaraveo, and P. erythrinus samples collected from the Aegean Sea were used to assess the...

Morphological variability of otolith organs in three congeneric Pagellus species

Article Category: Original research paper

Published Online: Apr 01, 2024

Page range: 88 - 101

Received: Aug 17, 2023

Accepted: Oct 11, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26881/oahs-2024.1.10

Keywords
Otolith organs, morphology, ear structures, interspecific variation, wavelet shape,

© 2024 Derya Bostanci et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Morphological variability of otolith organs in three congeneric Pagellus species

Article Category: Original research paper

Published Online: Apr 01, 2024

Page range: 88 - 101

Received: Aug 17, 2023

Accepted: Oct 11, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26881/oahs-2024.1.10

KeywordsOtolith organs, morphology, ear structures, interspecific variation, wavelet shape,

© 2024 Derya Bostanci et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Otolith organs, morphology, ear structures, interspecific variation, wavelet shape,