STUDY ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AVAILABLE ARIIDAE FAMILY FISHES IN CHATTOGRAM COAST, BANGLADESH

Abstract

Morphological characteristics are the fundamental importance in fishery biology for taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Morphometric and meristic study are vigorous tools for measuring discreteness of the same species. Aim of this study was to find out available fish species from Ariidae family in Chattogram coast. The present study examines the correlations between nine morphometric and six meristic characters and total length (TL) of fishes from Ariidae family collected from Chattogram coast in one year time frame. Three species of the Ariidae family (Plicofollis nella, Osteogeneiosis mlitaris, and Hemiarius sona) were observed. Statistical analyses of linear regression relationships show mostly strong correlations (r≥0.70; p0.05) with total length (TL). Hence, according to our present results, there is a direct relationship between the total length of fish and all morphometric characters, which were found to be the best indicators of positive allometric pattern growth in fish. The examination of mean and standard deviation revealed no significant variations in meristic features. Thus, our present study will provide a valuable information in systematic classification and management of this species on the Chattogram coast.