Morphologic Characteristics and Length-Weight Relationships of Sciaena umbra (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Black Sea Coast

Abstract

In this study, the morphological characteristics and length-weight relationships of Sciaena umbra (Linnaeus, 1758) belonging to the Sciaenidae family, which is represented by five species in the Mediterranean basin and two species in the Black Sea, were investigated. Sampling was carried out in the Black Sea Region (Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon) between March 2019 and February 2020. A total 54 of individuals were sampled and 15 different metric measurements were performed in each sample to determine their morphological characteristics. The mean total length and weight were estimated as 357.8 mm (117-580) and 845.3 g (16.4-2485.1), respectively. Total length was compared with morphometric characters and the lowest ratio was found with eye diameter (4.3%) and the highest ratio was with anal distance (59.9%). In the relation between the total length and morphological characters of the highest and the lowest correlation were observed in dorsal distance with r²=0.993 and the anal height with r²=0.938. A strong correlation (r²=0.993) was found between the total length and wet relationship and the growth was positive allometric b>3. This paper reports the first documented of morphometric characteristics of the species. It is considered to contribute to fisheries biology and international scientific literature.

Keywords

• Brown meagre
• Sciaena umbra
• Black Sea
• Morphologic character

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