Species Diversity
Online ISSN : 2189-7301
Print ISSN : 1342-1670
Molecular and Morphological Identification of Mola Sunfish Specimens (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) from the Indian Ocean
Etsuro Sawai Yusuke YamanoueLaith JawadJuma Al-MamryYoichi Sakai
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2017 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 99-104

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Abstract

We employed molecular systematic analysis based on mitochondrial D-loop sequences to identify two specimens of ocean sunfish from Omani coastal waters that had previously been identified morphologically as Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758) and M. ramsayi (Giglioli, 1883). Of the three molecular species that are recognized globally, Mola sp. A, Mola sp. B, and Mola sp. C, we confirmed that both specimens from Oman are Mola sp. A. This result suggested a broader distribution of this species than had ever been thought, but it also revealed a discrepancy between morphological and genetic characters in Mola taxonomy. We reexamined the morphology of the two specimens from Oman to clarify the extent to which the key morphological features correspond with molecular genetic identifications, and discovered errors in the original reports on both specimens.

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© 2017 The Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology
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