Morphological Comparison of two populations of lake goby Rhinogobius similis Gill, 1859 from Hariroud basin

Knowledge on the fish species is important in habitat protection management. This study was conducted to compare the morphological characteristics of two populations of Rhinogobius similis from Hariroud basin based on landmark morphometric truss network system. A total of 60 individuals from Polkhatoun (30 specimens) and Tafrihgah dam (30 specimens) stations were caught by electrofishing 220 volts. 15 landmarks set were selected and 105 distances were measured between the landmarks on the left side of each specimen. Then principal components analysis and discriminate function analysis were applied to identify influential truss variables to differentiate between the two populations. Based on principal components analysis results, there were 15 principal factors in morphometric characters. The linear discriminant analysis gave an average percentage of specimens classified of 100% for morphometric characters indicating a high rate of correct classification of individuals into their original populations. These populations are distinguished especially by head shape, eye diameter, and pre-dorsal, pre-pelvic and pre-anal distances.