Morphometric and meristic status of Harpadon nehereus (Hamilton, 1822) from the north east coast of India

Abstract

A total of 50 specimens of Harpadon nehereus were taken from the North East Coast of India from different landing centres; 5 meristic and 23 morphometric features were counted and measured, respectively. The morphometric features were analysed to create a linear regression model for specific characters, where most of the characters analysed in this study showed a positive allometric relation with Total Length, except Pectoral Base Length, Pelvic Base Length, Anal Base Length, Pelvic fin Length and Caudal Peduncle Depth. Similarly, the Post Optic Length and Optic Diameter showed a positive allometric relation with Head Length, except for the Pre Optic Length. The meristic features were used to create a fin formula - D. 11-12, P. 10, V. 9, A. 13-14, C. 16-17.