Morphological and Biometrical Characteristics on Otolith of Barbus tauricus Kessler, 1877 on Light and Scanning Electron Microscope

Abstract

The otolith morphology, biometry and the relationship between the otolith size and fish length were examined. The weight, length, width, area and perimeter were recorded for each pair of otoliths. The values of form factor (FF), roundness (RD), aspect ratio (AR), circularity (C), rectangularity (R) and elipticity (E) were calculated and the relationships between otolith length (OL) and shape indices were showed with graphics. According to paired t-test results, difference between right and left otoliths was important statistically (P<0.05), except otolith length. It is the first time, the difference of otolith variables were observed not only right and left pairs but also females and males of fish a member of Cyprinidae. While the otolith weight had the lowest coefficient of determination (r2) such as 0.69; 0.59; 0.65, otolith length had the highest 0.80; 0.81; 0.80, for female, male and all specimens, respectively. In addition, SEM images were firstly shown for otoliths of B. tauricus to determine the otolith morphology.