Molecular and morphological variation in saddled fathead sculpins (Psychrolutidae: Cottunculus) of the north‐east Atlantic Ocean, with a synonymy of three species. Issue 3 (15th July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Byrkjedal, I.; Hadler‐Jacobsen, S.; Rees, D.; Orlov, A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of fish biology. Volume 85:Issue 3(2014)
• Page Start: 821
• Page End: 837
• Publication Date: 2014-07-15
• Subjects: Fishes -- Periodicals; Fishes -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 597
• DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12458
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1112

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="jfb12458-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p id="jfb12458-para-0001">On the basis of 104 individuals of <italic>Cottunculus</italic> from the Norwegian coast, the Barents Sea, Svalbard and north‐east Greenland waters, this paper evaluates the descriptive taxonomic characters of three species <italic>Cottunculus sadko</italic>, <italic>Cottunculus microps</italic> and <italic>Cottunculus konstantinovi</italic> and links the character variation to genetic characterizations. Eleven morphological characters used as diagnostic characters in the original descriptions of these species were analysed in pair‐wise character comparisons. All characters show cross‐species traits when in combination with each other, and all individuals show traits of more than one of the species. Partial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (<italic>coI</italic>) gene sequences from 21 individuals, covering the morphological variation among the specimens, show little variation among the individuals. From these results, it is concluded that the descriptive characters do not support the maintenance of more than one species. It is recommended that <italic>C. microps</italic> remains the name for this species, with <italic>C. sadko</italic> and <italic>C. konstantinovi</italic> as junior synonyms.</p> </abstract>