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Morphological comparison for the dorsal fin of Chrysichthys auratus, Synodontis schall, and Synodontis serratus (Teleosti: Siluriformes) collected from the Lake Nasser and the River Nile, Egypt


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Figure 1

Location of sampling stations
Location of sampling stations

Figure 2

Dorsal fin spine of Chrysichthys auratus, 270 mm TL, A. anterior view; B. posterior view; C. spine elevated to show ventral side.
Dorsal fin spine of Chrysichthys auratus, 270 mm TL, A. anterior view; B. posterior view; C. spine elevated to show ventral side.

Figure 3

Dorsal fin spine of Synodontis schall, 400 mm TL; A. anterior view; B. spine elevated to show ventral side. Dorsal fin spine of Synodontis serratus, 400 mm TL, C. anterior view; D. posterior view.
Dorsal fin spine of Synodontis schall, 400 mm TL; A. anterior view; B. spine elevated to show ventral side. Dorsal fin spine of Synodontis serratus, 400 mm TL, C. anterior view; D. posterior view.

Features of the dorsal-fin spine of Chrysichthys auratus collected from Lake Nasser, Egypt

Characters 100 – 200 mm TL, n = 10 201 – 300 mm TL, n = 10 301 – 400 mm TL, n = 10
Median foramen, shape and size Small, rounded, with no edges Large, rounded, with high edges Large, oval, with high edges
Shape of the articular head Triangular in shape. The middle part is narrow and levelled with the wings, which are separated from the middle part by shallow grooves Triangular in shape, with middle part is levelled with the wings. No grooves Triangular in shape. Broad middle part, with edges and deep grooves separating it from the wings. The middle part is higher than the wings
Presence or absence of striations on the lateral sides of the spine, their shape and size No striations are present on the sides of the spine Deep striations present towards the posterior edge of the spine and shallow anteriorly. Diminish towards the tip of the spine.
Ornamentations on crest Smooth, no ornamentations Mainly smooth, with slight irregularities in the surface near the head Presence of a few tubercles irregularly arranged near the articular head and smooth on the remaining surface of the crest. They are variable in size.
Ratio of width of the articular head/width of the spine at its base 1.46 2.0 1.74
Ratio of the width of the median foramen/ width of the articular head 0.15 0.13 0.14
Average angle made by the lateral border of each wing of the articular head with the corresponding lateral border in ventral view 119° 101.5° 109°
Posterior surface of the median crest No grooves. Tubercles are small Presence of shallow grooves and tubercles getting larger towards the tip of the spine Presence of deep grooves, tubercles getting larger towards the tip of the spine
Posterior blocking processes Poorly developed directed posteriorly Well-developed, pointed directed laterally Broad, well-developed, posteriorly directed.

Features of the dorsal-fin spine of Synodontis schall collected from Lake Nasser, Egypt

Characters 200 – 250 mm TL, n = 10 251 – 300 mm TL, n = 10 301 – 350 mm TL, n = 10 351 – 400 mm TL, n = 10
Median foramen, shape and size Small, rounded, with high edges at dorsal side Large, elongated dorsal ventrally, with ridges at the dorsal side Small, rounded, with low edges Large, rounded, with high edges
Shape of the articular head Triangular in shape. The middle part broad and wider than the wings. Rounded edged wings, with notch at their lateral base Triangular in shape. The middle part with rounded edges and shorter than the wings. The left wing with triangular left head and rounded right head. Triangular in shape. The middle part broad. The wings with rounded edges. Presence of deep groove separating middle part and the wings. Triangular in shape. The middle part broad levelled with wings. Presence of a deep groove separating wings and the middle part.
Presence or absence of striations on the lateral sides of the spine, their shape and size Presence of a shallow striations diminish towards the tip of the spine Presence of a deep striations at the lateral sides decrease in number towards the tip of the spine. Presence of a deep curved striations decrease in number towards the tip of the spine.
Ornamentations on crest Presence of a small sized tubercles confined to the anterior base of the spine Smooth, with longitudinal keel traversing over the length of the spine Smooth, with slight irregularities near the articular head. Irregular surface, with no tubercles.
Ratio of width of the articular head/width of the spine at its base 1.7 1.14 1.9 2.3
Ratio of the width of the median foramen/width of the articular head 0.1 0.08 0.29 0.27
Average angle made by the lateral border of each wing of the articular head with the corresponding lateral border in ventral view 134° 122° 127.5° 138°
Posterior surface of the median crest Presence of a shallow groove, with curved dentations getting larger towards the tip of the spine Presence of a deep groove, with long and curved dentations getting longer towards the tip of the spine. Regularly spaced. Presence of a deep groove, with large and dentations curved downward. Large dentations located near the tip of the spine.
Posterior blocking processes Broad, not produced directed posteriorly Broad, not produced, with wavy edge directed posteriorly. Broad, not produced and directed posteriorly.

Features of the dorsal-fin spine of Synodontis serratus collected from Lake Nasser, Egypt

Characters 200 – 400 mm TL, n = 10 401 – 600 mm TL, n = 10
Median foramen, shape and size Small, rounded, with dorsal edge Large, rounded, with course ridges dorsally
Shape of the articular head Triangular in shape, with the middle part has rounded lower edge, higher than the wings which have rounded edges and well-separated from the middle part. Triangular in shape, with middle part broad, rounded and larger than wings. Rounded wings, well-separated from the middle part
Presence or absence of striations on the lateral sides of the spine, their shape and size Presence of a shallow striations traversing over most of the length of the spine and diminish towards the tip. Deep and irregular striations diminish towards the tip of the spine
Ornamentations on crest Presence of an irregular ridges along the length of the crest Presence of an irregular dentations getting larger towards the tip of the spine and irregularly separated
Ratio of width of the articular head/width of the spine at its base 1.82 2.65
Ratio of the width of the median foramen/width of the articular head 0.15 0.05
Average angle made by the lateral border of each wing of the articular head with the corresponding lateral border in ventral view 114° 137.7°
Posterior surface of the median crest Presence of an irregular pores along the length of the median crest. Presence of curved down dentations getting larger towards the tip of the spine
Posterior blocking processes Well-developed, broad, with curved posterior edge directed posteriorly Well-developed, with straight edge directed posteriorly
eISSN:
1897-3191
Language:
English
Publication timeframe:
4 times per year
Journal Subjects:
Chemistry, other, Geosciences, Life Sciences