Morphological comparison of the Cobitis species from Iranian inland waters using geometric morphometric method

This study aimed to find morphological traits to discriminate four species of the genus Cobitis in Iran using geometric morphometric method. For this purpose, a total of 65 specimens were captured from Sefid (C. saniae), Siah (C. faridpaki), Maloosjan (C. linea) and Gamasiab (C. avicennae) rivers using electrofishing device. To extract the body shape data of the studied taxa, 14 Landmarks-point were defined and digitized using tpsDig2 software. Data after generalized procrust analysis were analyzed using principal component analysis, multivariate analysis of variance /canonical variate analysis and cluster analysis.  The results showed a significant difference in the body shape between the studied species (p < 0.001). Cluster analysis positioned C. avicennae in one clade, distinguish from others. The results also revealed that the members of this genus can adapt themselves to the environmental parameters of their habitats by alternations in the body depth, head size and snout position, length of the caudal peduncle and positions of the dorsal, anal and pectoral fins.