Review of Literature

Morphometric and hormonal variability in yearling Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus

kisutch) from the Trinity River Hatchery, CA was studied by Winans and Nishioka
(1987). Body shape was evaluated by principal component analysis of a variance matrix
of 26 truss measurements. Values of body shape- as measured by principal component
two (PCII) - gradually increased from January until the middle of March and then
declined steadily until mid April. The peak value of PCII occurred near the first new
moon of the vernal equinox. Values of plasma thyroxine (T4) and PCII were not
statistically correlated.

Thirteen morphometric and seven meristic characters, length-weight relationship

and food & feeding habits of Ololithoides biaurijus of Bombay coast were studied by
Kumar and Acharya (1990). Compared morphometric characters revealed positive

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allometric growth and high correlation ranging (0.898 - 0.996) between each other.
Meristic characters were observed to be ByU' DI 8.10, D2 27-31, P 17.20, V 5-7 and A
7.10. Number of gill rackers on the first left gill arch ranged from 15 to 19. Length and
weight relationship for both sexes together worked out to be W = 0.026, L=2. 646.

In 2003, morphometric variation among Sardine (Sardina pilachardus) population

from the northeastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean was done by Silva. The
analysis explored the homogeneity of sardine shaped within the area studied as well as its
relation to adjacent and distant population.

Morphometric analysis of Malaysian Oxudercine Goby, Boleophthalmus boddarti

(Pallas, 1770) was done by Daud et al. (2005). Boleophthalmus boddarti is one of the
common mudskippers inhabiting tidal flats, mangrove swamps, estuarines and coastal
areas. Conventional and truss morphometrics as well as meristic data from 85 samples in
five populations (Pulau Pinang, Kuala Selangor, Banting, Port Dickson and Melaka) of B.
boddarti were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Principal Component Analysis
(PCA). Fifteen morphometric, 28 truss morphometric and 9 meristic data were analyzed
to examine the degree of similarity among the five populations. All morphometric
characters within and between the populations were significantly different (P< 0.05).
Using the conventional morphometric data analysed by PCA, the populations of B.
boddarti are clustered into 3 groups, where Banting and Melaka populations form the
first group, Pulau Pinang and Kuala Selangor populations the second group and Port
Dickson population the third group.

Analysis of morphometric and meristic characters of the fish Nandus nandus

(hamilton) from the new alluvial zone of West Bengal was done by Goswami and
Dasgupta (2007). They observed a positive correlation between length and
morphometric characteristics.

A study was carried out by Manimegalai et al. (2010) to identify variants of

Etroplus maculatus, a fresh water cichlid fish popularly known as orange chromic
commonly found in rivers, streams and canals of India using morphometric analysis.
Fishes were collected from Kollidam a branch of Cauvery river of Trichy (Dt), Tamil

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Nadu. Among the 15 parameters noted, body weight and body length showed high level
of significant positive relationship with total length when compared to all other
parameters. This analysis will help to understand the morphometric of different variants
which is the most easily perceivable means of assessing the evolutionary adaptation of a
species to its environment. Close monitoring is needed to determine its effects on the
local environment. The different level of significance between body features of various
variants reveals the possibility of segregation of variants of this species.

Kashefl et al. in year 2012 analyzed twenty-nine morphometric and seven

meristic characteristics to identify non-reproductive (NR) and reproductive (R) female
kutum, Rutilus frisii kutum. Seventy one samples of mature-size female kutum were
collected from coastal waters of the southwest Caspian Sea during spawning season.
Principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis, cluster analysis, and a
Kruskal-Wallis test were used to identify the two types of fish. The results showed
morphological variations between the non-reproductive and reproductive kutum.
Discriminant function analysis revealed NR: 91.9% and R: 91.2% while cluster analysis
demonstrated NR: 100% and R: 85.3%, verifying the classification of members in each
group. Maximum body height, post back distance, dorsal fin height, and up caudal fin
length were detected as the most functional characteristics of morphological
discrimination between the two types of kutum. Meristic counts, however, were not
different between the two types of fish.

Stock structure analysis of Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) across the Ganga basin
(India) using a truss network system was done by Mir et al. (2013). In this study the
intraspecific variation of wild Labeo rohita was investigated on the basis of
morphometric characters using the truss network system constructed from the fish body.
Altogether 435 fish samples were collected from six drainages of the Ganga basin in
India. The first principal component (PC1) explained 47.88% of the total variation, while
PC2 and PC3 explained 17.22 and 8.33%, respectively. The step-wise discriminant
function analysis retained three variables that significantly discriminated the populations.
Using these variables, 62.3% of the original groups were classified into their correct
samples and 53.1% of the crossvalidated groups omitting one procedure were classified

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into their correct samples. Misclassification was higher for samples from the River Gomti
(28.6%). Of the total of 31 transformed truss measurements, 30 exhibited significant
differences among populations. These findings indicate the presence of six different
stocks of L. rohita in the Ganga basin.

Morphological and meristic studies of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and

Snow Trout (Schizothorax richardsonii) were done by Vasave and Saxena in 2013. The
Snow trout (Schizothorax richardsonii) were collected from the Gaudi River,
Champawat. The fish were caught with the help of cast net. Sampling was done in the
month of October, 2010. The Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were used from the
cultured stock at the center for the experimental purpose. The morphometric and meristic
data were analyzed. The pelvic fin rays and anal fin rays are negatively correlated with
total length in Rainbow Trout. In Snow trout dorsal fin rays, pectoral fin rays, anal fin
rays and caudal fin rays were don’t have any correlation with the total length

The morphometric characters and meristic count of Himalayan Mahseer (Tor

putitora) was conducted in foot hill section of River Chenab (Jammu and Kashmir) by
Langer et al. (2013). Different samples of mahseer were examined for the study of
morphometric and meristic count. Some deviations, with regard to a few morphometric
parameters and meristic count have been observed. Positive correlation has been
observed between total length and external body parts.

In 2014, comparative analysis of the morphometric and meristic character of

Lutjanidae from Lekki and Badagry Lagoonsi in Lagos state Nigeria was done by
Fakunmoju et al. A total of 120 samples (60 from lekki and 60 from badagry) were
caught from the two sampling stations located in the Lagoon of Lagos State.
Morphometric measurements and meristic characters were determined on the specimens
to ascertain the possibility of morphological and meristic diversity among them. The
populations of the species from the two (2) sampling stations in the lagoon showed
variations in morphometric measurements and similarities in meristic counts but these did
not differ significantly (P>0.05) indicating that species from the stations may not be

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genetically diversed. These insignificant variations may be related to the geographical

ecological activities of the lagoon.

Morphometric study of cyprinid fish Rasbora dandia (Valenciennes) from a lentic

and two lotic habitats in Kerala was carried out by Devi and Kumari (2014). Their
findings revealed significant differences in morphometric parameters like head length,
body depth, predorsal length, dorsal fin length, pectoral fin length and pelvic fin length,
indicating morphological heterogeneity of the species. SDS- PAGE of eyelens protein
was employed to examine the discreteness of populations within the species, which
showed similar banding pattern from all three habitats. Despite the different level of
significance between various body features, homogeneity is not disturbed as there is no
genetic variation of R. daniconius from three geographically isolated locations.

Morphometric characters and meristic count of a fish, Crossochelius latius latius

(Hamilton-Buchanan) have been studied from Ranjit Sagar Wetland by Brraich and
Akhter (2015). Eighteen characters have been studied in percentage of total fish length
from which thirteen characters were genetically controlled, four characters were
intermediate and one character was environmentally controlled. In percentage of head
length all characters were genetically controlled. The meristric characters were counted
and to draw fin formula of this fish. Some variation in the count of branched and
unbranched fin rays have been observed. However positive correlation has been observed
between total length and external body parts.

The meristic and morphometric characteristics of Crossocheilus diplochilus from

a tributary of Indus River basin, India were studied by Sharma et al. (2014). Altogether
41 specimens ranging from 10.0 - 17.0 cm total length (TL) and 12.16 - 41.22 g body
weight (BW) were used for the study of the morphometric and meristic characteristics
using different local fishing gears. The morphometric characteristics on the head express
greater variation in head height (SD=7.46) than those from the body in pre-anal fin length
(SD=4.14). The highly correlated body parameter in relation to total length was standard
length (r=0.996) and distance from anal fin to caudal fin base was found least correlated
(r=0.804) and strong correlations were observed between head length and pre-orbital

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length (r=0.931) and least correlation between head length and head height (r=0.829).
Even though the values of correlation coefficient (r) vary between 0.804 (distance from
anal fin to caudal finbase) and 0.996 (standard length), they are all strongly significant
(P<0.001). The correlation analysis shows that all morphometric traits change
proportionally with increase in the total length.

Measurements of closely related sets of classical and truss dimensions were

analyzed to discriminate species of scorpaenidae including the dark banded rockfish,
Sebastes inermis, the black rockfish, S. schlegeli, and gobioninae including the striped
shiner, Pungtungia herzi, and the slender shiner, Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa by Park
et al. (2015). The measurements of the dimensions were arc sin square root transformed,
and compared as a function of the standard length of each species for statistical analysis.
For values of the classical dimensions of the rockfish, 6 were greater for the dark banded
rockfish than for the black rockfish, 1 value was smaller for the former, and for 2 values
there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). For values of the classical
dimensions of the shiners, 9 values were greater for the striped shiner than for the slender
shiner, 2 values were smaller for the former, and for 1 value there was no statistically
significant difference (P > 0.01). For values of the truss dimensions of the rockfish, 6
were greater for the dark banded rockfish than for the black rockfish, 1 was smaller for
the former, and for 4 values there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05).
For values of the truss dimensions of the shiners, 13 values were greater for the striped
shiner than for the slender shiner, 3 values were smaller for the former, and for 6 values
there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.01).

The morphometric and meristic characters of Amblypharyngodon mola collected from

culture pond and wetland of Jorhat district of Assam, were studied by Gogoi and
Goswami in 2015. The morphometric characters of different body parts of male and
female were recorded. The correlation and regression analysis was carried out for some
important characters in relation to total length and head length. The coefficients of
correlation (r) for various characters ranged from 0.216 – 0.947 in males and 0.396 –
0.9524 in females. There was significant (p<0.05) difference between morphometric

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characters of mature male and female A. mola while there was no change in meristic
counts with increase in body length.

A study on the morphometric characters and meristic count of Silver carp

(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) was conducted in Tanda Dam Kohat Pakistan during the
month of January and February 2015 by Safi et al. Meristic count (Six characters) and
morphometric character (Ninteen) for each specimen were studied. 20 samples of silver
carp were examined for the study of morphometric and meristic count. Some deviations,
with regard to a few morphometric and meristic count have been observed. The meristic
counts of pectoral fin rays were constant in all three groups, while other parameters of
meristic count vary in all the groups. Dorsal fin rays in small group of silver carp were
recorded 8, in medium and in large group observed 7 and the number of spines measured
in small group was one spine while in medium and large having two spines. Ventral fin
rays of small group have 8 rays while in medium and large having 7 with two spines.
Anal fin rays of small and medium groups having 12 rays and large group have 13 rays
with one spine. Caudal fin ray of small group were ranging from 21-22, medium group
were observed from 20-24 and in larger group were ranging from 24-25 without any
spines. The morphometric character showed gradual increase in the body length as
weight increases. On the basis of meristic and morphometric characteristics, fish was
identified as Hypophthalmichthys molitrix.

In May 2015, Brraich and Akhter observed morphometric characters and

meristic count of a fish, Garra gotyla gotyla (Gray) from Ranjit Sagar Wetland, situated
in the Himalayan foothills, India. Monthly sample collection of Garra gotyla gotyla was
conducted for the study. Eighteen characters have been studied in percentage of total fish
length from which three characters were genetically controlled, thirteen characters were
intermediate and two characters were environmentally controlled. Out of eighteen
characters, ten characters show high values of correlation coefficient indicating that these
characters are directly proportional to each other and eight characters show moderate
correlation coefficient. In percentage of head length five were genetically controlled and
two are intermediate. Three characters show least correlation coefficient and four shows
moderate correlation. The linear relationship has been observed between dependent and

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independent characters. The meristric characters were counted to draw fin formula of this
fish. Some variation in the count of branched and unbranched fin rays have been
observed.

Morphometric and meristic divergence of two hybrid catfish: backcross (F1

hybrid female x Pangasianodon gigas, male) and Reciprocal Backcross (P. gigas, female
x F1 hybrid male) was noted by Mengumphan and Puanase (2015). Both the BC and
the RCBC types showed fast growth; however, at the fingerling stage it is very difficult to
distinguish between the two hybrids because of their very similar morphology. The aim
of this study was to identify the characteristics of BC and RCBC types and to compare
the results with two purebred catfish specimens (PG and PH) at a total length of 13-15 cm
using 14 morphometric and 4 meristic measurements, respectively. The parental hybrid
catfish were produced from PG (male) x PH (female). The results revealed statistically
significant differences (p< 0.05); the BC exhibited distinct variations in anal fin height,
anal fin length, body depth (BD), body width (BW), and head length (HLSL) from the
other fish. The RCBC showed the highest level of distance from snout to isthmus (DSI)
and dorsal fin length (DFL). A multifactor analysis (MFA) was used to perform
clustering after the principal component analysis (PCA) had been done from both the
morphometric and meristic traits and indicated that the backcross was greater in terms of
BD and BW parameters when compared with the other groups. The RCBC, however, was
intermediate between the two purebreds.

Mojekwu and Anumudu (2015) studied the advanced techniques for

morphometric analysis of fish. According to their findings advanced techniques for
morphometric analysis offers more efficient and powerful tools in identify differences
between fish populations, detecting differences among groups and to differentiate
between species of similar shape. Morphometric methods such as univariate comparisons,
bivariate analyses of relative growth pattern and a series of multivariate methods have
been developed and applied to discriminate stocks.

In 2015, morphometric analysis of Nemiptrus japonicus was carried out by

Sreekant et al. along the Indian coast. The aim of study was to identify the various

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stocks of the species based on their morphometric characters. Fish samples were
collected from four locations, two each from west and east coast of India. Results
indicated that more than one stock is present in the west as well as east coasts of India.

Studies on two different populations (wild and cultured) of Cichlasoma festae, a

species native to tropical Ecuadorian rivers was carried out to determine morphometric
and meristic variations. Twenty-two morphometric and four meristic characters were
used to test the hypothesis differentiation. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA)
from 100 adult specimens showed significant differences (p <0.05) for 21 standardized
morphometric measurements out of 26 characters among the means of the wild and
cultured Cichlasoma festae populations tested. Cross correlation amongst certain
morphometric variables (i.e. body weight, total length, standard length, pre-ventral
length, AC1, LC1 and P1) were medium-strong(r ≥0.5), while the remaining were weakly
correlated (r <0.5). The length–weight relationship parameter b and condition factor (K)
values were respectively 2.21 and 1.97 (indicating allometric growth) for cultured fish
groups and 2.86 and 4.07 (p <0.05) for wild fish groups (Gonzalez et al. 2016).

Geometric morphometric analysis of shape variation of Sardinella lemuru was

done by Echem (2016). A total of 120 samples were digitized and sexes were determined
by direct gonadal examination. Images were processed using geometric thin-plate spline
grids (TPS), partial warps (PW) and relative warps (RW) software. The generated relative
warp scores were subjected to statistical analysis using the PAST software. Results
revealed that the shape variation (90.86%) in the female was found in the curvature of the
body and length area between posterior insertion of the first dorsal fin and posterior most
body extremity at RW 1. In the males, shape variation (48.24%) was found in the mid-
section of the body at RW 1. The body shape variation of Sardinella lemuru can be
accounted to their genetics and evolutionary adaption. Over fishing could have
contributed to their differentiation. The phenotypic plasticity of Sardinella lemuru allows
them to respond and adapt to environmental change by modifying their morphology and
behavior which eventually lead to changes in their morphology, reproduction, or survival
that alleviate the effects of such environmental change.

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Morphological analysis of Trichomycterus areolatus (Valenciennes, 1846) from

southern Chilean rivers using a truss-based system (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) was
done by Colihueque et al. (2017). In this study, the morphological variability of three T.
areolatus populations, collected in two river basins from southern Chile, was assessed
with multivariate analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA) and
discriminant function analysis (DFA). It is hypothesized that populations must segregate
morphologically from each other based on the river basin that they were sampled from,
since each basin presents relatively particular hydrological characteristics. In group
classification using DFA, 93.3% of the specimens were correctly classified into their
original populations. Of the total of 22 transformed truss measurements, 17 exhibited
highly significant (p < 0.01) differences among populations. The data support the
existence of T. areolatus morphological variation across different rivers in southern
Chile, likely reflecting the geographic isolation underlying population structure of the
species.

In 2017, observations on the morphometric and meristic characters of Guinean

Tilapia, Coptodon guineensis (Gunther, 1892) (Family: Cichlidae) from the Buguma
Creek and the New Calabar River in Nigeria was done by Olopade et al. The results
showed that almost all the values of the external morphometric parameters were higher in
the New Calabar River population than those of the population from Buguma Creek. The
results showed that almost all the values of the external morphometric parameters were
higher in the New Calabar River population than those of the population from Buguma
Creek. There were significant difference (p<0.05) in the weight, total length, standard
length, pre anal fin length, pre pelvic fin length, penduncle depth and body depth. The
mean percentage standard length to PrEOL of C. guineensis from Buguma Creek
(10.54±0.29 %) was significantly higher p<0.05 than that from the New Calabar River
(9.65±0.27 %) and the mean percentage SL to BD of C. guineensis from the New
Calabar River (91.05±2.26 %) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that from the
Buguma Creek (84.56±1.54 %). All the external parameters displayed allometric growth
expect for PoOL and BD.

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Studies on morphometric characterstics of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys

molitrix) under captive conditions were performed by Bonika Pant et al. (2018). The
descriptive statistical parameters and correlation coefficient (r) were analysed with
independent variable (total length) and dependent variable (other morphometric
parameters). The result shows that morphometric parameters are significantly correlated
to total length except caudal length. The maximum correlation coefficient of average total
length was obtained with fork length having a value of 0.992 and minimum with caudal
length with value of 0.323.

A morphometric dive into fish diversity was performed by Caillon et al. in May
2018. The elliptical Fourier transform here describes the shape of 85 fish species found in
the North Sea. This study shows that the main component of morphological diversity in
the North sea is the elongation and development of dorsal, pelvic, and caudal fins. The
spatial distribution of morphological diversity decreases along a latitudinal gradient, with
higher diversity in the southern part of the study area. Compared to species diversity, our
results indicate that environmental conditions filter morphological traits in the northern
North Sea.

The morphometric measurements were presented for commercially important

Cyprinids species (mahseer, snow trout, silver carp and grass carp) from Muzaffarabad,
Azad Kashmir by Shafi et al. (2018). The minimum and maximum range, mean, standard
deviation, percentage of various parameters in total length and head length were
estimated. The correlation was carried out for 16 important characters in relation to total
length and head length. The coefficients of correlation (r) for various characters ranged
from 0.13 to 0.99 for mahseer, 0.79-0.99 for snow trout, 0.76-1.00 for grass carp and 0.76
to 0.99 for silver carp. This indicates that snow trout, grass carp and silver carp exhibited
a high degree of interdependence of the various characters, while mahseer have a lower
degree of interdependence.

Morphometric analysis of fish, Labeo rohita (Hamilton) from pond near Kalayat,
Kaithal, Haryana India was done by Kaur (2019). Eighteen characters have been studied
in percentage of total fish length from which thirteen characters were genetically

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controlled, three characters were intermediate and two characters was environmentally
controlled. In percentage of head length five characters were genetically controlled and
one was intermediate. A positive correlation has been observed between total length and
external body parts.

Meristic and morphometric variations of barred spiny eel Macrognathus

panacalus from four populations namely Dhakuria beel, Jessore (DBJ); Bohnni boar,
Gopalgonj (BBG); the Arial Kha river, Madaripur (AKRM) and the Nabaganga river,
Jhenidah (NRJ) from Bangladesh freshwaters based on truss network system were
studied by Mahfuj et al. (2019). Six meristic counts were compared among four
populations and significant differences were observed in number of caudal fin rays and
number of pelvic fin rays in all meristic characters. The truss protocol was used in the
present study based on six general morphometrics and fifteen truss measurements.
Univariate statistics showed that five (standard length (SL), upper jaw length (UJL),
lower jaw length (LJL), head depth (HD) and inter orbital (IO)) of six morphometric and
eleven truss networks among fifteen truss measurements differed significantly

Morphometric studies of Barbus binotatus (cyprinidae) collected from three

different rivers in Java was done by Astuti et al. (2020). Total 30 specimen were
randomly sub-sampled from each river. Morphology, morphometry and meristic
characters, based on 14 anatomical landmarks were measured and analyzed using Thin
Plate Spline (TPSDIG), Symmetry-Asymmetry Geometric Analysis (SAGE) and
Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Result of SAGE analysis showed that there were
no significant asymmetries observed within, and between regions, respectively (p > 0.05).
The result of PCA analysis however, showed qualitative differences in ratio between eye
diameter (ED) versus head length (HL) (49%) and total length (TL) versus standard
length (SL) (17%). Genetic (through DNA analysis) study need to be elaborated to see
the differences more accurately.

Morphometric and meristic characterization of native chame fish (Dormitator

latifrons) in Ecuador using multivariate analysis was done by Martinez et al. (2020). It
was observed that fish from farm presented morphological measurements that were

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statistically (p < 0.05) higher than those of wild fish. Males were taller, longer, and wider
than females, although the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). The percentage of
correct adscription was 84%, with larger errors in wild fish. The morphostructural model
had a high homogeneity, with 89.95% significant correlations (p < 0.05), and wild male
and female fish were more homogeneous. The farm fish were larger because of the higher
food availability. Moreover, the species exhibited sexual dimorphism, although there
were no great differences in the morphometric measurements.

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