Morphological study of Pagrus pagrus, Pagellus bogaraveo, and Dentex dentex (Sparidae) in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Morphometric measurements were collected on red porgy, Pagrus pagrus, red seabream, Pagellus bogaraveo, and common dentex, Dentex dentex samples, from four countries along the south European Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean Sea (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece). Multivariate statistical analysis was used to discriminate populations. Stepwise discriminant analysis yielded a reduced variable set that identified significant differences among all four countries. The overall per cent-correct classification rate for the four samples from the stepwise discriminant analysis, based on 18 adjusted morphometric characters for Pagrus pagrus samples, and 14 (for both Pagellus bogaraveo and D. dentex) samples were 99·6%, 100% and 97·9%. There was a significant degree of morphological dissimilarity between countries (samples), for each species. A clear difference was displayed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean samples, and a geographical gradient was found for the common dentex.