Systematic Status of Nine Mullet Species (Mugilidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Systematic relationships among four genera and nine species (MagilcephalusLinnaeus, 1758, MugilsoiuyBasilewsky, 1855, Liza ramada(Risso, 1827), Liza aurata (Risso, 1810), Liza abu (Heckel, 1843), Liza saliens (Risso, 1810), Liza carinata(Valenciennes, 1836), Chelonlabrosus(Risso, 1827), Oedalechiluslabeo (Cuvier, 1829)) of the Mugilidae family living in the Mediterranean Sea were investigated using morphological characters.Moreover the systematic relationship of M. soiuy and L. abu among other mullet species was investigated in the present study for the first time. Hierarchical cluster analyses of morphometric data were not concordant with the meristic data. Meristic characters in the present study were more discriminative than morphometric characters in terms of taxonomic classification of the mullets. According to meristic data in UPGMA tree, all nine species were grouped in two main branching. In the first branch, C. labrosusandO. labeo were clustered as closest taxa, and being the sister group to the L. aurata. The other four Liza species produced two sub-branching in this group; L. carinata was branched with L. saliens, which is neighbour toL. ramada. In the second branch two species, M. soiuyand L. abu were clustered together and highly isolated from others. M cephaluswas clustered as a most differentiated species from all otherMugilspecies.