International Journal of Marine Science, 2017, Vol.7, No.30, 292-296
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ocular side differentiate into adult-type pigment cells, while the chromatoblasts on the blind side slowly shrink
and breakdown during metamorphosis resulting into a colored-asymmetrical individuals (Minami, 1982; Kang et
al., 2014). This defect in coloration is an indication for the melanic patches are not made by transient movement
of pigment in chromatophores, but were formed irreversibly by differentiation of chromatophores. Such anomaly
in flatfishes may occur during metamorphosis and when the eye migrates to the other side of the head (Gartner,
1986), depending upon the asymmetry of organizational environments that potentially regulate latent
chromatophore precursor survival, proliferation and differentiation (Bolker and Hill, 2000; Hamre et al., 2007).
Accordingly, the partially pigmented eyed-side could be due to abnormalities in the asymmetry of the regulatory
system (Barton, 2010). This has not yet been studied in the flatfish species of Oman. Thus, further experimental
research is needed to test this hypothesis.
Diagramma pictum
and
P. marmoratus
studied having high economic value and being fished regularly from the
coasts of the Arabian Gulf (
Amer and Al-Gaber, 2006;
Al-Abdulrazzak and Pauly, 2013). The absence of any
previous record of melanism or ambicoloration in those species could indicate; (1) that the occurrence of this
abnormality is very rare; (2) this colour aberration might overlook and special attention was paid to them.
However, specific attention to these anomalies is required in order to achieve a more comprehensive knowledge
about the occurrence of melanic hyper-pigmentation in deep-water fish species. In addition to economic effects
that the melanic or the ambicolored specimens may cause to the fishermen due to being unfavourable by the
customers, melanism showed to interferes with social interactions and reproductive success in some fish species
(Heemstra and Randall, 1993).
Authors’ contributions
All authors have contributed equally toward the publication of this paper.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Ministry of Fisheries Wealth, Marine Science and Fisheries Centre for giving us the opportunity to work
on the fish samples.
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