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International Journal of Marine Science 2014, Vol.4, No.28, 253-258
http://ijms.biopublisher.ca
256
Materials examined
8 specimens, 400-470 mm TL, OMMSTC 1237, Iraqi
marine waters, 29°47'55.71'' N 48°43'32.9'' E, 20th
Mar. 2012.
The morphometric measurements and meristic count
of the 8 specimens were taken according to Fischer
and Bianchi (1984) and are given in Table 3. The
range of the total length is 40-470 mm and it is within
the range given by Froese and Paully (2013).
Table 3 Morphometric and meristic data of
Atrobucca nibe
from the Sea of Iraq (TL, total; HL, head length; SL standard
length; all measurements in millimeters)
Morphometric/ meristic data
Total length
400
-
470
Standard length (% in TL)
343
-
403(85
-
85.9)
Head length (% in SL)
101
-
118(29
-
29.7)
Eye diameter (% in HL)
16
-
17(16
-
16.9)
Preorbital length (% in HL)
17
-
20(16
-
17)
Posorbital length (% in HL)
32
-
37(33
-
34)
Pre first dorsal fin length (% in SL)
117
-
136(34
-
35)
Post first dorsal fin length (% in SL)
160
-
185(46
-
47)
Pre second dorsal fin length (% in SL)
109
-
127(31
-
31.9)
Post second dorsal fin length (% in SL)
164
-
190(47
-
47.9)
Prepectoral fin length (% in SL)
103
-
119(30
-
30.7)
Preanus length (% in SL)
178
-
205(51
-
52)
Preanal fin length (% in SL)
240
-
275(68
-
68.7)
Postanal fin length (% in SL)
268
-
300(78
-
78.9)
Maximum body depth (% in SL)
93
-
100(27
-
28)
Caudal peduncle depth (% in SL)
29
-
33(8
-
8.4)
Pectoral fin length (% in SL)
64
-
74(18
-
18.6)
Meristic characters
Dorsal fin spines
11
Dorsal fin rays
29
Anal fin spines
2
Anal fin rays
7
Atrobucca nibe
(Jordan & Thompson, 1911)
Blackmouth croaker
(Figure 4; Table 3).
Figure 4
Atrobucca nibe
: OMMSFC 1237, 402 mm TL, Basrah,
Iraq
Atrobucca nibe
Jordan and Thompson 1911:258,
Figure 3 [type locality: Wakanoura, Wakayama
Prefecture, Japan, Inland Sea, western North Pacific];
Heemstra 1986:617, Sasaki & Kailola 1988:273,
Talwar 1995:46, Sasaki 1996:87, Sasaki in Randall &
Lim 2000:621, Nakabo 2000:869, Sasaki 2001:3133
in Carpenter and Niem 2001.
Description
It is possible to diagnose the blackmouth croaker,
Atrobucca nibe with the following characters: body
small and slightly deep. Mouth terminal. Eye large.
Ctenoid scales on body. Lateral-line scales extending
to tip of caudal fin. Membrane between spines paler
posteriorly. No special colour markings.
Distribution
This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific region
from Mozambique and Natal to South Africa, India,
China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia and off northern
Australia (Heemstar, 1986, van der Elst, 1993).
3 Discussion
Among the jawfish (
Opisthognatus
), leopard jawfish,
O. pardus
and
the robust jawfish
O. muscatensis
can be
distinguished in having the two outermost segmented
rays of the pelvic fin tightly joined to each other with
the interradial membrane not incised distally
(Smith-Vaniz, 2012). Randall (1995) stated that the
maximum total length reached by
O. muscatensis
is
410 mm, while Robins, Ray (1986) have suggested that
200 mm is the maximum size and Smith-Vaniz (2009)
examined specimens in the range of 88-342 mm. The
range of the specimens obtained in the present study is
larger than mentioned above by different authors. The
other morphometric and meristic chracters are within
the range given by Smith-Vaniz (2009) except for the
number of spines in the dorsal fin which is slightly
higher (Table 1).
Among
Trachinotus
species,
T. russelii
has 2 anterior
spots larger than eye diameter and at least two thirds
of spot above lateral line (versus all spots equal to or
smaller than eye diameter, and with about half of spot
below lateral line); and pelvic fins longer. This species
differs from
T. mookalee
in having 21-25 soft dorsal
fin rays (18-20 in
T. mookalee
), 20-24 soft anal fin
rays (16-18 in
T. mookalee
) and 7-13, 15-19 gill
rakers (5-8, 8-10 in
T. mookalee
). In other
Trachinotus
species, no spots in a longitudinal row on or near