Morphological description of genetically identified Cortez bonefish (Albula gilberti, Pfeiler and van der Heiden 2011) leptocephali from the southern Gulf of California

Abstract

Bonefish leptocephali of the genus Albula are difficult to identify to the species level due to morphological similarities between two different species present in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean, A. esuncula and A. gilberti. In this study, 22 bonefish leptocephali (premetamorphic and early metamorphic), collected from two locations in the southern Gulf of California were identified as Albula gilberti by comparing 459 bp of their mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences to those of four other species of bonefish. The characteristics of these A. gilberti leptocephali were compared to those of previously described bonefish leptocephali in the region. No distinctive morphological characteristics (meristic and pigmentation) were found that differentiate premetamorphic leptocephali of A. gilberti from those of other Albula species, making species identification by molecular-genetics a necessity. In early metamorphic leptocephali some differences in horizontal eye diameter-head length ratio, number of rays of pelvic and anal fins and myomere of pelvic-fin origin may help to differentiate A. gilberti from A. esuncula.

Keywords:

• Albula gilberti
• cytochrome b
• genetic identification
• Gulf of California
• leptocephali

Acknowledgements

We thank Martín O. Rosales-Velázquez, and J. Alejandro Ysla-Guzmán CICIMAR, and Susana Avila Alvarez of CIBNOR and Caroline Downton of CEDO.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not report conflicts of interest. Ira Fogel and Miguel V. Cordoba-Matson of CIBNOR provided editorial services.

Funding information

Funding was provided by IPN SIP grants 20160514 and SEP-CONACYT 2014-236864. Additional funding was received by L.S.V. and Miguel F. Lavín-Peregrina of CICESE from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation (2010-36137).