Length-Weight Relationship, Morphometric Characters and Meristic Counts of an Endangered Kashmir loach, Triplophysa kashmirensis (Hora, 1922) in Kashmir Himalaya, India
Hilal Ahmad *
Division of Fisheries Resource Management, Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal, SKUAST-K, India.
Farooz A. Bhat
Division of Fisheries Resource Management, Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal, SKUAST-K, India.
Tasaduq Hussain Shah
Division of Fisheries Resource Management, Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal, SKUAST-K, India.
Adnan Abubakr
Division of Aquatic Environmental Management, Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal, SKUAST-K, India.
Bilal. A. Bhat
Division of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-K, India.
Masood H. Balkhi
Division of Aquatic Environmental Management, Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal, SKUAST-K, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study was conducted on the morphometry, meristic characters and length-weight relationship of Triplophysa kashmiriensis (Hora (1922) and was carried out from September 2018 to February 2019. A total of 180 samples were collected from Dagwan and Lidder streams. Various morphometric characters showed a high degree of correlation (R2) between them and the values of correlation ranged from 0.69 to 0.99. The coefficient of variation for various morphometric characteristics was found to be 20.95 % between snout length and total length, and 17.65 % between eye diameter length and total length. The fin formula of the fish was found as D(I)8; A(I)5; P1(10-11); V(7-8); C(17-18). The length-weight relationship was recorded separately for both males and females. The equations found were Log W = -5.485 + 3.167 Log L for males and Log W = -5.440 + 3.153 Log L for females and the combined equation was obtained as W = -5.491 + 3.174 Log L. The value of ‘b’ obtained for the pooled data was found to be 3.174 which is significantly greater than 3 indicating a positive allometric growth in the fish.
Keywords: Triplophysa kashmiriensis, allometric growth, morphometry, meristic, length-weight relationship