Morphometric and Meristic Traits of Spotted Scat Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) a Mangrove Fish from South-west Coast of Bangladesh

Mizanur Rahman Washim¹, AKM Shafiqul Alam Rubel² and Md. Latiful Islam^2,

¹Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Shrimp Research Station, Bagerhat-9300

²Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Brackishwater Station, Paikgacha, Khulna-9280

Cite this paper:
Mizanur Rahman Washim, AKM Shafiqul Alam Rubel and Md. Latiful Islam. Morphometric and Meristic Traits of Spotted Scat Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) a Mangrove Fish from South-west Coast of Bangladesh. Journal of Aquatic Science. 2022; 6(1):1-7. doi: 10.12691/jas-6-1-1

Abstract

This study describes a first and complete morphometric and meristic characteristics of Scatophagus argus from mangrove river Chuna, south-west coast Bangladesh. Altogether 85 specimens were collected periodically during July 2020 to June 2021 ranging from 10.40-20.20 cm in total length (TL) and 85.20-260.54 g in body weight (BW) applying locally used fishing gears. For each individual fourteen distinguished morphometric lengths were evaluated and body weight (BW) was measured accordingly. The examined fin formula was: D. XI-XII/15; P1. 18; P2. I/5; A. IV/12-14; C. 14. Majority (79%) of the length-weight relationships (LWRs) were highly significant (P < 0.01) with r² ranging from 0.71 to 0.84. Off the LWRs equations, BW = 0.6290*(TL) ^1.98 was the well expressed model depending on the largeness of r² value. The relationship exposed that the value of slope (b) was enormously below 3, because of the deep and vigorously compressed body. Alternately, TL vs. SL of length-length relationships (LLRs) was the precise model among ten equations considering the magnitude of r² values. Additionally, TL vs. SL showed the most strongly significant (P <0.01) interrelationship in correlation matrix. These data will facilitate in species identification and similarly assessment of stock/biomass, conservation and sustainable management of S. argus in mangrove river Chuna and other ecosystems of various geographic region.

Keywords:
morphometric meristic scatophagus argus mangrove chuna river

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Figures

References:

[1]	Amarasinghe, U.S., Amarasinghe, M.D. and Nissanka, C., 2002. Investigation of the Negombo Estuary (Sri Lanka) brush park fishery, with an emphasis on community-based management. Fish. Manag. Ecol., 9: 41-56.
[2]	Sivan, G., and C. K. Radhakrishnan, 2011. Food, feeding habits and biochemical composition of Scatophagus argus. Turk. J. Fish. Aquat. Sc., 11: 603-608.
[3]	Ni, I-H. and Kwok, K.Y., 1999. Marine Fish Fauna in Hong Kong Waters. Zoological Studies, 38(2): 130-152.
[4]	Pinto, L., and N. N. Punchihewa, 1996. Utilization of mangroves and seagrasses by fishes in the Negombo Estuary, Sri Lanka. Mar. Biol., 126: 333-345.
[5]	Barry, T.P. and Fast, A.W., 1992.  Biology of the spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) in the Philippines.  Asian Fisheries Science, 5: 163-179.
[6]	Gandhi, V., 2002. Studies on the food and feeding of the cultivable butterfish, Scatophagus argus (Cuv. and Val.). J. Marine Biol. Ass. India, 44(1-2): 115-121.
[7]	Hajisamae, S., Yeesin, P. and Chaymongkol, S., 2006. Habitat utilization by fishes in a shallow, semi enclosed estuarine bay in southern Gulf of Thailand. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 68: 647-655.
[8]	Kharin, V.E., and Milovankin, P.G., 2008. A new finding of rare species Scatophagus argus (Scatophagidae) in Russian waters. J. Ichthyol., 48(9): 822-824.
[9]	Talwar, P.K. and Jhingran, A.G., 1991. Inland fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol 2, (AA Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands). pp. 1021.
[10]	Morgan, S., 1983. Scats, Personable, hardy garbage disposals for the brackishwater aquarium. Tropical Fish Hobbyist, 65-69 pp.
[11]	Wongchinawit, S., 2007. Feeding ecology of spotted scat Scatophaqus argus, Linnaeus in mangrove forests, Pak Phanang Estuary, Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Doctoral’s dissertation, Department of Marine Science. Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University. pp. 29.
[12]	Musikasung, W., Danayadol Y. and Songsangjinda, P., 2006. Stomach content and ecological feature of Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus) in Songkhla Lake. Technical paper No. 47. Coastal Aquaculture Research Institute. Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Bureau. 30 pp.
[13]	Mathew, A.K., 1988. Studies on some aspects of biology of two estuarine fishes Megalops cyprinoides and Scatophagus argus. Ph.D. Thesis, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin. pp. 170.
[14]	Sivan, G., Venketasvaran, K. and Radhakrishnan, C.K. 2010. Characterization of biological activity of Scatophagus argus venom. Toxicon, 56: 914-925.
[15]	IUCN, 2016. IUCN: The International Union for Conservation of Nature, Redlist of least concern species, version 2016, accessed on (16 October 2021).
[16]	Abby, 2014. Fishionary: Meristics and Morphometrics. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://fishionary.fisheries.org/meristics_morphometrics/.
[17]	Muchlisin Z.A., 2013. Morphometric variations of Rasbora Group (Pisces: Cyprinidae) in Lake Laut Tawar, Aceh Province, Indonesia, based on truss character analysis. Hayati J Biosci, 20:138-143.
[18]	Hossain, M.Y., Rahman, M.M., Bahkali, A.H., Yahya, K., Arefin, M.S., et al., 2016. Temporal variations of sex ratio, length-weight relationships and condition factor of Cabdio morar (Cyprinidae) in the Jamuna (Brahmaputra River distributary) River, Northern Bangladesh, Pakistan J Zool, 48:1099-107.
[19]	Jayaram, K.C., 1999. The Freshwater Fishes of the Indian Region, (Narendra Publishing House, Delhi). pp. 551.
[20]	Hossain, M.Y., 2010. Morphometric relationships of length-weight and length-length of four Cyprinid small indigenous fish species from the Padma River (NW Bangladesh). Turk J Fish Aquat Sc, 10:131-134.
[21]	Karatas, M., 2005. Research Techniques in Fish Biology. Nobel Press, Ankara, Turkey, 498 pp.
[22]	Kottelat, M., 2001. Scatophagidae. Scats. In: K.E. Carpenter & V. Niem (eds.), FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. Pp. 3623-3626.
[23]	Talwar, P.K. and Kacker, R.K., 1984. Zoological Survey of India. Handbook: Commercial sea fishes of India. Publisher: Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta - 700 012, 596-598.
[24]	Froese, R. and Pauly, D., 2007. Fishbase 2007. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available at: http://www.fishbase.org (accessed on 15 August 2021).
[25]	Simon K. D., Mazlan A. G., Samat A., Zaidi C. C., Aziz A., 2010. Size, growth and age of two congeneric archer fishes (Toxotes jaculatrix Pallas, 1767 and Toxotes chatareus Hamilton, 1822) inhabiting Malaysian coastal waters. Sains Malaysiana, 39(5): 697-704.
[26]	Hossain, M.Y., Ahmed Z.M., Leunda P.M., Islam A.K.M.R, Jasmine S., et al., 2006. Length-weight and length-length relationships of some small indigenous fish species from the Mathabhanga River, southwestern Bangladesh. J Appl Ichthyol, 22: 301-303.
[27]	Ain MU and Farooq RY, 2018. A generalized structure of the scale of spotted Scat, Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) using light microscope. INT.J. BIOL. BIOTECH. 15 (2): 307-310.
[28]	Tyler J.C. and Sorbini C., 1999. Phylogeny of the fossil and recent genera of fishes of the family scatophagidae (Squamipinnes). Boll. Mus. Civ. Nat. Verona, 23: 353-393.
[29]	Washim, M.R., Rubel, A.K.M.S.A., Islam, M.L., 2021. Morphometric and Meristic Features of White Grunter, Pomadasys hasta (Bloch, 1790) a Threatened Fish in the South-west Coast, Bangladesh. American Journal of Marine Science, 9 (1): 7-11.
[30]	Hasan, M.R., Mamun, A.A. and Hossain M.Y., 2021. Biometric indices of eleven mangrove fish species from southwest Bangladesh. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 47: 207-213.
[31]	Rahman, M.A., Islam, M.S., Hossain, M.Y., Hasan, M.R., Islam, M.A., et al., 2019. Morphometric and meristic characteristics of the Banded Gourami, Trichogaster fasciata (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) in a wetland ecosystem from northwestern Bangladesh. Jordan J Biol Sci, 11: 561-566.
[32]	Vaitheeswaran, T. and Venkataramani, V.K., 2008. Length-weight relationship of Odonus niger (Ruppell, 1836). Tamilnadu J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 4 (2): 48-51.
[33]	Wassef, E.A. and H. A. Abdul Hadry. 2001. Some biological studies and gonadal development of rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus (Park) and Siganus spinus L. (F: Siganidae) from the gulf waters off Saudi Arabia. J. KAU Mar. Sci., 12: 189-208.
[34]	Gandhi, V., Venkatesan, V. and Zacharia, P.U., 2013. Biometry analysis, length-weight relationship and sexual dimorphism of the Spotted Scat, Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) (Perciformes: Scatophagidae) from Gulf of Mannar, southeast coast of India. Mar. Biol. Ass. India, 55 (1):12-16.
[35]	Hashim, M., Abidin, D.A.Z., Das, S.K. and Mazlan, A.G., 2017. Length-weight relationship, condition factor and TROPH of Scatophagus argus in Malaysian coastal waters. AACL Bioflux, 10 (2): 297-307.
[36]	Jisr, N., Younes, G., Sukhn, C. and Dakdouki, M.H., 2018. Length-weight relationships and relative condition factor of fish inhabiting the marine area of the Eastern Mediterranean city, Tripoli-Lebanon. The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 44 (4): 299-305.
[37]	Biria, M., Poorshalkoohi, N.J. and and Hosseini, S.A., 2014. Length-weight relationships Carsobarbus luteus (Heckel 1843) from Karoon River, Iran. J. Biodivers. Environ. Sci. (JBES). 5(1): 140-144.
[38]	De Giosa, M., Czerniejewski, P. and Rybczyk, A., 2014. Seasonal changes in condition factor and weight-length relationship of invasive Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782) from Leszczynskie Lakeland, Poland. Adv. Zool.
[39]	Karna, S.K., Sahoo, D. and Panda, S., 2012. Length weight relationship (LWR), growth estimation and length at maturity of Etroplus suratensis in Chilika Lagoon, Orissa, India. Int. J. Environ. Sci. 2(3): 1257-1267.
[40]	Schneider, J.C., Laarman, P.W. and Gowing, H., (2000). Length-weight relationships. Chapter 17. In: Schneider, J. C. (Ed.), Manual of Fisheries Survey Methods II: With Periodic Updates, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Special Report 25, Ann Arbor; 2000. pp. 1-18.
[41]	Tsoumani, M., Liasko, R., Moutsaki, P., Kagalou, I., Leonardos, I., 2006. Length-weight relationships of an invasive cyprinid fish (Carassius gibelio) from 12 Greek lakes in relation to their trophic states. J. Appl. Ichth. 22, 281-284.
[42]	Tandon K. K., Johal M. S. and Bala S., 1993. Morphometry of Cirrhinus reba (Hamilton) from Kanjli wetland, Punjab, India. Research Bulletin of the Punjab University, Science, 43(1-4): 73-78.