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Comparative otolith morphology and species identification of clupeids from Japan

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Abstract

The amount of interspecific and ontogenetic variation in otolith shape among clupeid fishes from Japan was investigated to create a key to identify otoliths of these species found in the stomach contents of piscivorous predators, fossiliferous beds, and archaeological sites. The interspecific comparison with 12 species (Clupea pallasii, Etrumeus micropus, Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus, Ilisha elongata, Konosirus punctatus, Nematalosa come, Nematalosa japonica, Sardinella aurita, Sardinella melanura, Sardinella zunasi, Sardinops melanostictus, and Spratelloides gracilis) revealed morphological variation in otolith shape, OL:OH and AL:RL ratios, rostrum, marginal structures, and features of the crista superior. Intraspecific changes were analyzed in two species (E. micropus and S. melanostictus), revealing ontogenetic changes in OL:OH ratio and consequently otolith shape as well as changes in marginal features. Overall, this study shows that the key morphological features can be used as diagnostic features for identification of clupeid otoliths.

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Acknowledgements

We are great thankful to Hiroyuki Motomura (Kagoshima University Museum), Atsuko Yamaguchi (Nagasaki University), Yukio Iwatsuki (Miyazaki University) and their students, and to Katsutoshi Kawabe (Tokyo Metropolitan Ogasawara Fisheries Center) for the kind donation of fish samples. We would like to thank also Hiroshi Senou (KPMNH) for registration and inclusion of our otolith collection in the museum. Thanks are also extended to Hiroyuki Yamashita (KPMNH) for permission to use SEM equipment and to Katsunori Tachihara (Ryukyu University), You Sakurai (Okinawa Environmental Research Co. Ltd.), Ryohei Kamei, the late Yoh Usami, and members of the Laboratory of Population Biology (TUMSAT) for their grateful cooperation in this study.

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  1. Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477, Japan

    Shota Mitsui, Carlos A. Strüssmann, Masashi Yokota & Yoji Yamamoto

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  1. Shota Mitsui
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  2. Carlos A. Strüssmann
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  3. Masashi Yokota
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Correspondence to Shota Mitsui.

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Mitsui, S., Strüssmann, C.A., Yokota, M. et al. Comparative otolith morphology and species identification of clupeids from Japan. Ichthyol Res 67, 502–513 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-020-00746-6

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