Analysis of morphometric and meristic characteristics of three cichlid species in central Iraq: farmed and wild Cover

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Analysis of morphometric and meristic characteristics of three cichlid species in central Iraq: farmed and wild

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

Volume 54 (2025): Issue 4 (December 2025)

By: Fatema Ali Al Fatle , Laith A. Jawad and Ana L. Ibáñez

Open Access

|Dec 2025

Figures & Tables

O. niloticus, TL 350 mm and SL 290 mm showing the nine morphometric characteristics (mm) examined. BD, body depth; ED, eye diameter; HL, head length; PosDFL, postdorsal fin length; PreAFL, preanal fin length; PreDFL, predorsal fin length; PrePFL, prepectoral fin length; SL, standard length; TL, total length.

Boxplot. Samples from farmed and wild cichlids of three species: C. zillii, O. aureus, and O. niloticus were analyzed for three meristic characters: NPFR, NDFR, and NAFR. The mean ± standard error for each character was calculated. NAFR, number of anal fin rays; NDFR, number of dorsal fin rays; NPFR, number of pectoral fin rays.

Boxplot. Three meristic characteristics (number of gills rakers on the first gill arch [NGR], NV, and number of LLS) and for both wild and farmed specimens of three cichlid species (O. niloticus, C. zillii, and O. aureus) are shown by the mean ± standard error. LLS, scales on the lateral line; NGR, number of gill rakers; NV, number of vertebrae.

Mean ± SD, minimum, and maximum values of morphometric (eight and six morphometric and meristic characters, respectively) (length in mm) variables in aquacultured and wild specimens of (A) C_ zillii, (B) O_ aureus and (C) O_ niloticus_ p values of the Mann–Whitney test (M–W)

(A)	Aquaculture			Wild			M–W
Character	N	Range	Mean ± SD	N	Range	Mean ± Std	Z	p
TL	130	140.0–170.0	153.4 ± 11.2	145	50.0–120.0	80.5 ± 24.2	–14.323	<0.01
SL	130	120.0–130.0	121.3 ± 24.1	145	35.0–110.0	73.1 ± 30.1	–13.006	<0.01
HL	130	30.0–31.0	30.6 ± 0.4	145	33.0–50.0	43.7 ± 6.5	–14.341	<0.01
ED	130	10.0–12.0	11.5 ± 0.6	145	6.0–8.0	7.4 ± 0.7	–14.444	<0.01
BD	130	50.0–65.0	57.7 ± 6.7	145	23.0–40.0	29.4 ± 6.6	–14.341	<0.01
PreDFL	130	45.0–50.0	48.2 ± 1.7	145	20.0–40.0	24.1 ± 3.7	–14.327	<0.01
PosDFL	130	50.0–65.0	57.8 ± 6.7	145	25.0–45.0	35.7 ± 7.6	–14.331	<0.01
PrePFL	130	55.0–62.0	59.8 ± 2.4	145	22.0–50.0	32.8 ± 9.6	–14.326	<0.01
PreAFL	130	90.0–95.0	92.7 ± 1.9	145	30.0–85.0	66.4 ± 20.6	–14.330	<0.01

Correlation matrix with the transformation of ratios of each measure by TL

	SL	HL	ED	BD	PreDFL	PosDFL	PrePFL	PreAFL
SL	1.000
HL	0.041	1.000
ED	–0.266	0.055	1.000
BD	0.552	–0.016	–0.549	1.000
PreDFL	0.186	0.018	0.041	0.580	1.000
PosDFL	0.543	0.099	–0.631	0.976	0.519	1.000
PreDFL	–0.216	–0.149	0.903	–0.531	0.093	–0.644	1.000
PreAFL	0.441	0.449	–0.773	0.687	0.226	0.783	–0.802	1.000

Classification resultsa of discriminant analysis of morphometric variables for the three-cichlid species for aquacultured and wild variants_

Variants	Predicted group membership						Total
Variants	CZA	CZW	OAA	OAW	ONA	ONW	Total
CZA	100.0	0	0	0	0	0	100.0
CZW	0	100.0	0	0	0	0	100.0
OAA	0	0	100.0	0	0	0	100.0
OAW	0	0	27.0	73.0	0	0	100.0
ONA	0	0	0	0	100.0	0	100.0
ONW	0	0	0	0	8.4	91.6	100.0

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26881/oahs-2025.1.31 | Journal eISSN: 1897-3191 | Journal ISSN: 1730-413X

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Language: English

Page range: 364 - 379

Submitted on: Sep 28, 2025

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Accepted on: Dec 12, 2025

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Published on: Dec 31, 2025

Published by: University of Gdańsk

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

body shape variation,

Related subjects:

Chemistry, other,

Geosciences, other,

Life sciences, other

© 2025 Fatema Ali Al Fatle, Laith A. Jawad, Ana L. Ibáñez, published by University of Gdańsk
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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