Bull's eye fish (Priacanthus hamrur) stock delineation in Indian water using meristic counts and morphometric data

Abstract

During the day, the Moontail bull's eye (Priacanthus hamrur) is a fish species that is often seen in the deep water, behind ledges, or hovering around coral heads. About 300 specimens were gathered for the current research from various locations on India's east and west coasts, such as Kakinada, Kolkata, Cochin, and Mumbai, in order to look at population stock differentiation. Ten meristic counts and fourteen morphometric features were examined. The descriptive statistics of morphometric features showed that the west coast's population increase was much greater than that of the east coast. When it came to identifying the stocks, the meristic characteristics were not very effective. Stock separation was aided by pre-pelvic fin length, post-anal fin length, post-dorsal fin length, pre-dorsal fin length, head length, eye diameter, body depth, caudal peduncle depth, and dorsal fin base. Each of the four stocks has unique morphometric characteristics. The current research will provide baseline data on P. hamrur stock features from Indian water and resource management strategies for sustainable use.