International Journal of Marine Science 2016, Vol.6, No.52, 1-5
3
Table 1. The morphometric measurements and meristic counts for
Acentrogobius dayi
specimen collected from southern marsh area,
Iraq.
Morphometrics
Measurements (mm)
Present study
N
= 1
Measurements (mm)
Ziyadi et al. (2015)
N
= 3
Total length (mm)
108
77.2–108
Standard length (mm)
88
62.3–86
Body depth (mm)
16.59
13.1–15.1
Body width (mm)
14.62
-
Head length (mm)
24.33
18.9–24.7
Head depth (mm)
15.78
-
Snout length (mm)
7.34
5–6
Eye diameter (mm)
4.49
-
Interorbital distance (mm)
2.20
3.1–4.1
Dorsal fin length (mm)
38.61
-
Pectoral fin length (mm)
19.33
12–17.8
Pelvic fin length (mm)
16.88
13.1–22.9
Anal fin length (mm)
17.16
-
Caudal peduncle length (mm)
21.36
-
Caudal peduncle depth (mm)
9.18
-
Meristic counts
1
st
Dorsal fin rays
7
6
2
nd
Dorsal fin rays
I/10
I/9–I/10
Anal fin rays
9
I/9
Pectoral fin rays
18
17R + 18L
Pelvic fin rays (fuse fin)
10
I/5R + I/5L
2 Results
Head large and body elongated. Mouth directed upward. Gill opens extending midpoint of the orbit. Villiform
teeth are on jaws. Caudal fin is round and shorter than head. Angle of the mouth is with two rows of papillae. First
dorsal fin originated near the posterior end of the pectoral fin, while the 2
nd
dorsal fin originated anterior to that of
the anal fin. Ctenoid and cycloid scales are on posterior and anterior parts of the body respectively. No scales on
head and operculum with embedded scales. Body greys in color. Lower sides and back of eyes are with dark
brown bands. Body is with pale and blue-green spots. Upper angle of caudal fin base is with black spot (Figure 3).
Morphometric and meristic data are given in Table 1.
3 Discussion
Randall (1995) and Froese and Pauly (2016) suggested that the maximum length of this species is 110 mm in total
length. The total length of our specimen (108 mm) is fall near the upper limit of the reported for this species. It is
smaller than that obtained for Sawa Lake specimen (Ziyadi et al., 2015) and also smaller than that given by
Ghanbarifardi and Malek (2007) from the Arabian Gulf coasts of Iran (109 mm TL). It is larger than that given by
Rahimian & Pehpuri (2006) (70 mm TL). In its description, the present specimens agrees with that given by
Mutsaddi and Bal (1974), Randall (1995), Rahimain and Pehpuri (2006) and Ghanbarifardi and Malek (2007).
Acentrogobius dayi
is the only species of this genus is present in this part of the world (Froese and Pauly, 2016).
Acentrogobius dayi
is recorded from several localities in the Western Indian Ocean, from the Arabian Gulf to
Pakistan (Froese and Pauly, 2016), and the Mumbai region of India (Mutsaddi and Bal, 1974). Within the Arabian
Gulf area, it is known from Kuwait (Randall, 1995; Bishop, 2003), Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (Randall, 1995).
Coad (1991) reported the presence of
Acentrogobius dayi
from Basrah, but it was originally recorded by Koumans
(1941) from Fao, south of Iraq.
