Vol. 58, 2019

(update: 2019.05.14; 06.24)
 

Delimitation of Tigertooth Croaker Otolithes Species (Teleostei: Sciaenidae) from the Western Arabian Gulf Using an Integrative Approach, with a Description of Otolithes arabicus sp. nov.

Yu-Jia Lin^1,*, Mohammad A. Qurban¹, Kang Ning Shen², and Ning Labbish Chao³

¹Marine Studies Section, Center for Environment and Waters, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Marine Studies Section, Center for Environment and Waters, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. *Correspondence: E-mail: YJLin@mail.com (Lin). E-mail: mqurban@kfupm.edu.sa (Qurban)
²Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan. E-mail: knshen@mail.ntou.edu.tw
³Sciaenidae Red List Authority- IUCN, SSC. E-mail: piabachao@gmail.com

Received 18 September 2018 / Accepted 24 April 2019
Communicated by Hin-Kiu Mok

Two species, Otolithes ruber and Otolithes cuvieri, are currently recognized in the sciaenid genus Otolithes. Recent findings suggest that Otolithes ruber likely has multiple genetically and morphologically distinct lineages and one of them, Otolithes sp. West Indian Ocean II group (WIO II group), has been previously identified in the Arabian Gulf. In this study, the specimens of Otolithes sp. collected from the western Arabian Gulf were examined using an integrative approach by combining mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene, morphological characteristics, and otolith-shape analyses. Three groups were found to have small within-group and large between-group genetic distance: the Otolithes sp. Western Arabian Gulf (WA) group, and the Otolithes sp. WIO II groups type A and type B. Accordingly, three primary species hypotheses were proposed. Evidence from conventional morphological comparisons, multivariate statistical analysis, geometric morphometric landmark analysis on morphological characteristics, and otolith shape analysis based on wavelet transformation all favor the hypothesis that the Otolithes sp. WA group is a distinct lineage. For this new species, the name Otolithes arabicus sp. nov. is proposed. A detailed description of Otolithes arabicus sp. nov. and a key to identifing species in the genus Otolithes are also provided. However, the primary species hypotheses for Otolithes sp. West Indian Ocean II group type A and type B cannot be fully supported because of partial congruence, which may result from recent divergence.

Key words: DNA barcode, Integrative taxonomy, Morphology, New Species, Otolithes, Otolith shape, Sciaenidae.

Citation: Lin YJ, Qurban MA, Shen KN, Chao NL. 2019. Delimitation of Tigertooth Croaker Otolithes Species (Teleostei: Sciaenidae) from the Western Arabian Gulf Using an Integrative Approach, with a Description of Otolithes arabicus sp. nov. Zool Stud 58:10. doi:10.6620/ZS.2019.58-10.